Andrew Stetka: For O's, any sell-off must be done carefully

The Orioles aren't completely buried after this weekend's sweep at the hands of the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs, but there is certainly some dirt on their grave. With that comes the realization that perhaps this isn't "the year" for the Birds. At least that appears to be the sentiment of the front office if reporting from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports is to be believed. Rosenthal says that O's executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette has begun informing teams that he's willing to start the process of "selling." It comes with an important caveat, and that's approval from ownership. As Rosenthal notes, Orioles majority owner Peter Angelos has only really "sold" one time since buying the club in 1993.

Before the Orioles get into any kind of action at the upcoming trade deadline, a few things need to be addressed and a few questions answered. First and foremost, the O's need to figure out what the long-term future holds for Duquette, and frankly for manager Buck Showalter as well. If Baltimore is beginning a rebuild of sorts, even if it's just an intended quick rebuild, it needs to figure out who is going to be around for the long haul to see it through. Whether that means extending Duquette or cutting ties, something needs to be made clear. The other thing that needs to be addressed is just how serious the Orioles are about attempting to build toward the future. It needs to be made clear that there will be some losing. There's no doubt that a rebuild will take some time, but we've seen in recent history that they can be very successful. The Yankees are a great example of a team that has done it quickly. The Astros lost at least 100 games for three straight seasons from 2011-2013, but have been a winning club for the last few years. They lead the American League with 62 wins this season and are a virtual lock to win their division. A plan has to be put in place for any kind of rebuild, and it starts at the top. The other thing that it needs is commitment.

I can understand why some players wouldn't be on the table in a trade. Adam Jones for example, is the perfect player to keep around. He not only has the ability to block any trade because of his service time, but he's established himself in Baltimore not just as a baseball player, but as a member of the community. I may broach the subject with Jones and see if he wants to be moved, but I would make it very clear that the intent is to keep him in town. Rosenthal's piece brought up names like Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O'Day as potential trade chips. Any of those players, especially Britton, could bring a nice haul of players back in a deal. The same goes for Seth Smith or Welington Castillo. What blows my mind is why third baseman Manny Machado wouldn't be on the table for a trade. It would have to be the right deal, don't get me wrong, but the fact that the O's wouldn't consider trading the All-Star is beyond me. Unless the team has some very strong belief that they can re-sign Machado after next season (which is quite frankly crazy), they should be looking to make the right deal for him now. Even if they think they can bring him back to Baltimore after next season, a rebuild means his services would be wasted in that timeframe. Despite the fact that Machado is having a down season (by his standards), he'd still be one of the biggest trade chips in recent memory.

The Orioles need to be careful over the next few weeks. In 14 days, the trade deadline will hit and the team will likely be entering a new phase of their history. The last five to six seasons have been great. This season and likely the next couple aren't going to be as great. Unfortunately, a larger scale plan takes more than two weeks to come up with. The hope is that the front office already has a roadmap in place. Either way, the rest of this month is going to be fascinating to watch, not for the baseball on the field, but instead for the action off it.

Andrew Stetka blogs about the Orioles for Eutaw Street Report. Follow him on Twitter: @AStetka. His thoughts on the O's appear here as part of MASNsports.com's continuing commitment to welcome guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.