masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgOrioles executive vice president Dan Duquette just confirmed to reporters that the deal with Grant Balfour is off, and the club will attempt to find another closer.

Duquette indicated that the Orioles could sign a closer, trade for one or choose an internal candidate.

“The Orioles were disappointed that we couldn’t complete a contract with Grant Balfour,” Duquette said. “The reason is the club’s not satisfied with the results of the physical exam.

“We would never say never or close the…Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette just confirmed to reporters that the deal with Grant Balfour is off, and the club will attempt to find another closer.

Duquette indicated that the Orioles could sign a closer, trade for one or choose an internal candidate.

“The Orioles were disappointed that we couldn’t complete a contract with Grant Balfour,” Duquette said. “The reason is the club’s not satisfied with the results of the physical exam.

“We would never say never or close the door, but we’re turning our attention elsewhere for now to look at some other options to try to staff our team and try to build a contending team for 2014.”

Duquette isn’t allowed to offer specifics of the exam.

“I think when you get into this situation, there’s not a lot that you can add,” he said. “We do our due diligent process on all the players before we sign them. And part of that is a medical review. We did a preliminary medical review on this case, as we do on all our cases.

“I think from the Orioles’ perspective, we’re going to look at some of our other options and turn our attention elsewhere. This conversation we had did not result in adding a player to the ballclub. Like I said, we’re going to turn our attention somewhere else right now. That’s from the Orioles’ perspective.

“These medical issues, you have to protect confidentiality, and there’s not a lot that the team can say publicly. The only thing I can tell you is the club was not satisfied with the results and we’re not going to get into particulars of what the specific club’s concerns were.”

Duquette also expressed disappointment in reliever Troy Patton’s 25-game suspension and offered support for Major League Baseball’s drug prevention program. Patton will go on the restricted list.

Duquette listed all the candidates to fill the second left-handed reliever role. He mentioned Brian Matusz as being the lefty specialist.

More to come.