Blue Jays President & CEO Paul Beeston will "remain this year" with the club after months of speculation that he might be on the way out to make way for Orioles Exec VP/Baseball Operations Dan Duquette, according to Bob McCown of Toronto-based CJCL-AM. There is not a "timeframe on the succession, or who the successor will be or whether they even have one." While McCown said he has not yet talked to Beeston himself, he has been led to believe Beeston “will depart at the end of this season” (“Prime Time Sports,” CJCL-AM, 1/21). In Toronto, Brendan Kennedy notes Beeston previously said that as far as he was concerned it was "'business as usual,' despite the fact his contract ended in October, and he was looking forward to the upcoming season." Duquette, who has previously served as GM of the Red Sox and Expos, has "remained quiet on the issue" (TORONTO STAR, 1/22).
PASSED BALL: FOXSPORTS.com's Ken Rosenthal noted Duquette "can give valid explanations for each of his swings and misses this offseason," but his inactivity is "creating a perception -- justified or not -- that he has gone on strike." This is a "problem for the Orioles, whose roster is not as strong as it should be coming off the team’s first division title" since '97. It is also a "problem for baseball, which essentially is powerless to resolve the stalemate between the Orioles and Blue Jays over Duquette’s future." MLB sources said that both incoming Commissioner Rob Manfred and outgoing Commissioner Bud Selig "spoke with Orioles attorney Alan Rifkin at the recent owners’ meetings about the need to resolve the matter." But Duquette "isn’t backing down from his desire to become CEO of the Blue Jays," and Orioles Owner Peter Angelos also "isn’t backing down from his insistence that Duquette complete his contract," which runs through '18. Some Orioles employees "want Duquette out, believing the uncertainty over his status is creating instability within the club’s power structure." Meanwhile, Orioles fans are "right to wonder if Duquette is doing his best to improve their club when his true wish is to bolt for the Jays, a division rival." Until it happens -- if it happens, given that Angelos, in particular, is "not one to relent -- questions will linger over the direction of the franchise" (FOXSPORTS.com, 1/20).
