Baltimore Orioles: Takes two to tango

On Friday I wrote about the possibility of the Baltimore Orioles trading for Detroit pitcher Rick Porcello. It’s unclear what level of interest the Orioles have, however the two sides have sat down and talked. As reported yesterday by Roch Kubatko of masnsports.com, Lynn Henning of the Detroit News tweeted that perhaps Detroit and the Orioles could consummate a trade that would send Porcello and infielder Jhonny Peralta to the O’s in exchange for J.J. Hardy. So, Orioles fans…how would YOU feel about that?!

Speaking for myself, I think the Orioles would be crazy to trade Hardy. Notice that I said they’d be crazy to trade Hardy; what I didn’t say is that they’d be crazy to take that deal. Most people are going to say that Manny Machado, Dylan Bundy, Adam Jones, and probably Matt Wieters are untouchable with regard to trades. I’d throw Hardy into a category just below that. Are there trades out there whereby Hardy could be involved? I suppose so; for instance if Detroit wanted to send the Orioles Prince Fielder for Hardy I’d pull the trigger. However that’s not on the table right now. Hardy for Peralta and Porcello would not even be remotely close to being a fair deal for the Orioles.

Courtesy of William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports

That leads me into my real point in this: it takes two to tango. Many fans appear to be dismayed at seeing teams like the Boston Red Sox consummating trades and so forth, while the Orioles appear to be standing pat. (First off keep in mind that based on 2012 Boston has a lot more to build up than do the Orioles.) The above-mentioned trade proposition came from a reporter, however it’s probably safe to assume that those names were thrown around in conversations between the Orioles and Detroit. So assuming that most people are going to agree that wouldn’t benefit the O’s too much, this is an example of why trades aren’t as clean cut as people want to believe. Again, assuming that the likes of Machado, Bundy, Jones, Wieters, and Hardy are untouchable, it’s also safe to assume that other teams have inquired about them.

My point in this is that Dan Duquette isn’t just sitting in his office waiting for the phone to ring. However if people really want a move to be made for the sake of making a move, then I suppose Dan Duquette’s answer of no when the Tigers called and said “…hey Dan, we’ll send you Peralta and Porcello for your gold glove shortstop Hardy” was the wrong move. However if you agree that wouldn’t be a fair trade, you should also accept the fact that many lopsided trades of that nature have been offered to Dan Duquette over time.

Regardless of any of that, I do feel that Porcello COULD possibly be a fit with the Orioles. I just don’t feel J.J. Hardy’s the guy that the Orioles should consider surrendering to obtain Porcello’s services. I think that Detroit’s vision was that the Orioles would get Porcello, Peralta could play third base, and Machado could shift over to his natural position of shortstop. How nice of them to have everything worked out for the Orioles.

Obviously if you’re trading for a major leaguer(s) you probably aren’t going to be able to get away with dealing low-level prospects. So the Orioles do have to have some guys in mind that they could send to Detroit if they were to get Porcello. Jim Johnson‘s name was floated, and while that would be a huge loss to the pen he’s also expendable due to some of the other names out there. Whether or not Porcello comes to Baltimore remains to be seen, but keep in mind that plenty of deals are always on the table for the O’s. However whether or not those deals would benefit or harm the franchise is another story.