Since Baltimore Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette arrived in November 2011, the losing has stopped. In the five seasons he has been in Baltimore, he has kept the Orioles going in the right direction. But the O's haven't been quite good enough to get to a World Series, as their high-water mark was getting swept in the 2014 American League Championship Series by the Kansas City Royals.
With just two years remaining on the contracts of near-perfect closer Zach Britton and All-Star third baseman Manny Machado, you'd think the Orioles would be making a better effort to fortify their roster and improve the club's overall talent level.
You'd think that, but getting better costs some serious money. And it appears the O's have pretty much maxed out at the $150-155 million payroll level
