The Orioles are fortunate to have an organization as dysfunctional as the Nationals in their back yard — or else the attention would be greater on Baltimore’s season of underachievement and disharmony.

It has not exactly been ignored. There have been reports about a brewing unease between GM Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter.

In fact, one persistent rumor within the game is that Showalter — craving more input into player personnel decisions — is going to move upstairs to run baseball operations and Orioles icon Cal Ripken is going to become the manager.

When reached by phone, Showalter said, “We have a lot of work to do this offseason. I don’t see that happening. I was hired to do a job [manage], and I plan to finish that.”

Ripken was raised in Baltimore and is one of the greatest players in the organization’s history. His father (Cal Sr.) was a longtime employee of the team (including as manager), and his brother, Billy, played as an Oriole. So there has been natural belief that if Ripken, who broadcasts games for TBS, would return to the day-to-day life of baseball, he would do so with the Orioles.

His spokesperson, John Maroon, said Ripken is at an age (55) where he is “intrigued” by returning to a fuller baseball life, but added, “Rumors about Cal re-entering major league baseball in some capacity have been swirling since he retired in 2001. I can tell you that he has not had discussions with people about this since he talked to the Nationals [about their managing job] before they hired Matt Williams. At this point, any time Cal does any interview, this issue comes up. But there is no substance to it beyond the rumors at this point.”

Duquette said he had no comment on this issue.

An executive from another team noted Orioles VP of baseball operations Brady Anderson is a friend and former teammate of Ripken’s and one of Showalter’s confidants. However, an Orioles employee questioned whether Baltimore owner Peter Angelos would hire Ripken because Ripken is so popular in Baltimore, he would be difficult to fire if he were not a good manager.

As for the tension between Duquette and Showalter, multiple sources said it is real, has worsened as the year has gone along and is being felt strongly within the franchise. However, both men said they are fine working with each other and an unsuccessful season is launching this sense of discord. While it does not reach Nationals level, this has been a season of frustration for the Orioles.

Last offseason, Duquette made it clear he desired the Blue Jays presidency. He had been the Expos GM from 1991 to 1994, and it is believed he wanted to work again in Canada. Normally, organizations do not impede employees from taking job promotions elsewhere. But Angelos blocked the possibility, feeling this was a disloyal move because he had saved Duquette from exile (Duquette was out of MLB for nine years before getting the Orioles job) and already had extended Duquette through 2018 (the same period for which Showalter is signed).

With crafty additions and strong managing by Showalter, the Orioles made the playoffs in 2012 for the first time since 1997, were a contender in 2013 and won the AL East last year.

But Nelson Cruz and team glue Nick Markakis left in free agency last offseason and were not adequately replaced. The starting pitching needed an upgrade it never got. And the Orioles are 76-80.

Chris Davis, Matt Wieters and Wei-Yin Chen — three of their better players and all Scott Boras clients — are free agents and are likely to leave. Showalter favorite Darren O’Day also is a free agent, as are Gerardo Parra and Steve Pearce. The Orioles are viewed as having one of the majors’ weakest farm systems, a situation worsened because their two best pitching prospects (Dylan Bundy and Hunter Harvey) combined for eight minor league starts this year due to arm injuries and Duquette said it is too early to forecast their status for next year.

A core with Adam Jones, Manny Machado and Zach Britton is impressive, but without an infusion from the system and with significant budget constraints, the Orioles will be hard-pressed to reassemble a strong contender, especially if the tension in the management infrastructure is not erased. Because both Duquette and Showalter are signed for three more years, Angelos might be loath to remove either. But what if they cannot work together?

“It is a tough league and particularly a tough division,” Duquette said. “We know we have lots of work to retool for next year.”