While reports out of the final day of Major League Baseball's general managers' meetings Wednesday in Orlando, Fla., said that the Orioles could explore trades involving cornerstone players J.J. Hardy and Matt Wieters, the team is not actively shopping either player, according to a club source.
Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said Wednesday night that he's met with more than half the major league clubs to gauge whether they could be trade partners, but he added that Hardy and Wieters are "core players on our ballclub." He also met with several free-agent representatives in Orlando and made preliminary offers to multiple pitchers.
"Our focus is on improving our ballclub and we'd like to improve our ballclub by improving our pitching in particular," Duquette said. "We could use an outfielder and we could use some help at DH from the left side. That's where our focus is. We're continuing to make progress. We've talked to some agents. We've made some offers to some pitchers and hopefully that will bear some fruit."
Hardy can become a free agent at the end of the 2014 season, and his stock is at its highest. He is one of just four major league players to win both a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award at his position this year.
An industry source confirmed that the Orioles and St. Louiis Cardinals engaged in dialogue about a possible trade, as was reported by CBSSports.com Wednesday, but it was no more than a short conversation about team needs that are typical during the GM meetings. The Orioles are willing to listen to offers, but it doesn't mean that the team is looking to move key players.
The CBSSports.com report said that the Orioles inquired about Cardinals right-hander Shelby Miller and were quickly shot down. And while the Orioles would be looking to upgrade their pitching with a talented major leagues-tested pitcher who would be under team control for several years would be attractive, they aren't actively shopping Hardy or Wieters, according to the source.