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Regardless of what you thought of the Orioles potentially aquirring Kubel, the fact is that it’s looking like he probably won’t be leaving Arizona. (Obviously that’s not something that’s set in stone, as it could still happen if the O’s offered the right package of players.) So I suppose the question is whether or not Dan Duquette dragged his feet too much, and/or whether or not the Orioles missed an opprotunity as a result. First off, we don’t know what the Diamondbacks were asking in return. I said yesterday that I felt Kubel probably wasn’t good enough of a hitter for Arizona to ask for the likes of Bundy or Machado. But how do we know that they didn’t?

My point is that from the outside it does appear that Dan Duquette hasn’t pulled the trigger on several potential trades that would have otherwise improved the team year-over-year. But how would Orioles’ fans feel when they saw Manny Machado hitting moon shots at Camden Yards, or Dylan Bundy striking out the side…both against the Orioles? Furthermore, Kubel being off the market is a ripple effect of the Upton trade. That trade was between Arizona and Atlanta…the Orioles had nothing to do with it.

However the question at hand is whether or not the Orioles missed out on an opprotunity to better themselves by getting Jason Kubel. The answer to that is yes. Kubel might strike out a bit, but he would have provided some nice power for the Orioles’ lineup. However I’m not sure that there’s much that Dan Duquette could have done to prevent that from happening. Atlanta gave away A LOT to get Justin Upton and Chris Johnson. Similar to the Bedard-for Jones (and others) trade, that’s the kind of trade on which Atlanta better be right, otherwise people’s jobs might roll. Kudos to them I suppose for being willing to run the risk of trading five players (including Martin Prado) away in one fatal swoop, but that’s a risk that I would hope most Orioles fans would rather Dan Duquette not take.

I think that the issue here is that most fans want to be a part of the off season buzz, be it by making a trade or by a major free agent splash. Last year’s big trades were Dana Eveland and Taylor Teagarden. While Eveland was a bust, Teagarden’s bat did win two very key games for the Orioles last year (against Detroit and Tampa). I suppose my point is that I think it’s better to make a big splash in the regular season than in the off season. And there’s no doubt that the 2012 Orioles made a splash in the regular season.

The real surprise is the extension of Dan Duquette as the Vice-President of Baseball Operations (aka-General Manager). While Duquette obviously did a commendable job of putting together a team and working together with Showalter last year, I think that many people do find it odd that he’d be given a vote of confidence of that magnitude after just one year. I think what this signifies is that Angelos likes the direction in which the franchise is headed, and he wants to ensure stability at the top by locking this “team” up for the foreseeable future.

Courtesy of Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

These are moves that could also help to attract potential free agents to Baltimore, as the franchise now appears to have direction and leadership in the long-term. I think this also tell the fans something about the owner of the franchise. Peter Angelos has a reputation as a meddler, and while it’s been awhile since he’s interfered with things on the field this move also shows that perhaps he’s going to continue to take a backseat. Buck Showalter isn’t the type of guy who’s going to stick around someplace long-term if he doesn’t like the direction of the organization, so that should tell Orioles fans something about where they could be headed.

In other news, by now I’m sure most Orioles fans are aware that Michael Morse has been traded by the Washington Nationals to Seattle. I’ll raise my hand and say that I was wrong, as I thought that Morse would in fact land in Baltimore. I suppose this tells us that Chris Davis is going to get a extended look at first base again this year. I read someplace over the course of the past few weeks that many Texas scouts were surprised that Davis struggled so mightily at first base last season with the Orioles, so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s been able to make any improvements year-over-year.

As for Morse, given what Washington got in return for him I believe that the Orioles could have landed him. That tells me that they weren’t as big on him as many people (myself included) might have believed. I also think that Duquette is very wary of trading prospects because he appears to have a firm belief from building through your farm system. That might not mean much for 2013, but it should mean something for this franchise down the road. For those still upset that the Orioles didn’t make a play on Morse and/or that think they need to make a deal at some point, keep in mind that the Orioles have a surplus of pitchers right now. As other teams go through camp and even into the regular season, they might suddenly have some injury concerns with regard to pitching. The Orioles are then in a position of power in terms of negotiating a deal.

The Orioles will hold a press conference at 10 AM this morning (eastern time) to formally announce the extensions of Showalter and Duquette.