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O's, Sox talks on Lester seem to be on hold

Duquette maintains he's looking to hold on to Baltimore's top prospects

BALTIMORE -- Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette had a decidedly different stance in trade discussions when speaking with reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

While rumors swirled about the club's heavy involvement in trying to acquire Red Sox ace Jon Lester, Duquette, who said on Tuesday that he was focused on pitching depth, didn't shoot down the possibility.

"We'd be interested in adding pitchers that could help us at the top of our rotation," he said. "Who wouldn't be?"

However, as of Wednesday evening, talks on that front seemed a long ways off with the New York Daily news reporting talks between the two sides had tailed off and become much more of a long shot.

Duquette, who maintained that he wants to hang on to his top pitching prospects, also confirmed that Hunter Harvey has a right flexor mass injury -- as first reported by MLB.com -- and will miss the rest of the season. Asked how much the news changed trade talks, Duquette wouldn't elaborate nor would he comment on any specific negotiations.

Still, losing Harvey for the remainder of the season certainly weakens the Orioles' farm system, particularly for a big deal, considerably. Even if the club had taken Harvey off the table in trade talks, it's still a stark reminder of how thin the Orioles' Minor League system can get.

"We have a couple of active discussions," Duquette said. "We have some discussions that are no longer active from yesterday, so we've been able to see where we can make a trade and help our ballclub. Some of the long-term prospects for our pitching, we think are very valuable for the long-term sustainability of the organization and I think that's a real important component to have a good team year-in and year-out. I think with our young pitchers, we would be conservative and we would try and give them a prolonged trial in the big leagues before we would trade them."

Hunter joins Dylan Bundy, who is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, leaving 23-year-old Kevin Gausman as the only healthy member of the club's top three pitching prospects. Gausman is currently part of the Orioles' rotation and it's highly unlikely he would be dealt.

Brittany Ghiroli is a reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Jon Lester