When Montreal Expos president Claude Brochu confronted then-GM Dan Duquette with rumours that the Red Sox were pursuing the New England native to be their own general manager in January 1994, Brochu informed him he was under contract and that he would not let him go. The response from Duquette, who had taken over the Expos from Dave Dombrowski in 1991, was that if he stayed his heart may not be in it and he would not be able to do the job to the best of his abilities.

Fast forward 21 years to January 2015 and rumours are now out there that the Blue Jays are interested in hiring Duquette to be baseball president and CEO, in a similar capacity to Theo Epstein in Chicago with the Cubs and Andrew Friedman with the Dodgers.

O’s owner Peter Angelos, at first, responded strongly that Duquette had a contract through 2018 and was not going anywhere. But we do know Duquette wants to come to Toronto right now because he has not denied any of the rumours — and besides, it’s a promotion. We also strongly strongly believe Duquette had applied to be Jays president in late summer of 2008, just before current prez Paul Beeston was hired on an interim basis — then full-time. Having coveted it before, could Duquette be playing the “heart’s not in it” card that he also played successfully with the Expos? And isn’t that the same strategy that Jays management and fans condemned so vociferously when manager John Farrell made his escape two years ago?

YOUR CALL!

There must be a reason why the O’s have gone from Angelos’ strong statement regarding the sanctity of an existing long-term contract to now talking about a trade and the minor-league players they might like in a package as compensation, starting with the first name out there: right-handed prospect Jeff Hoffman, the Jays’ first-round selection in the 2014 draft. He can’t be traded until a calendar year after his 2014 signing date, so that would be a “player to be named later.”

Heart not in it? Let’s examine exactly what player moves Duquette has made to improve the Orioles since Dec. 7, the date the news first leaked out of Blue Jays’ interest in him, bumping and totally disrespecting Beeston and his legacy on the eve of this year’s winter meetings in San Diego.

While the Red Sox, Yankees and Rays have made huge off-season moves to improve and make over their AL East rosters — the Jays having made their big splash earlier in the winter — the O’s have, in the past 46 days: re-signed DH Delmon Young, claimed a marginal Rule 5 prospect, made one small cash acquisition and signed 10 minor-league free agents, the highest profile of which was catcher J.P. Arencibia. In the meantime, the O’s lost key pieces Nelson Cruz, Andrew Miller and Nick Markakis. And when it came time to visit free-agent Colby Rasmus as a potential right fielder, Duquette sent manager Buck Showalter down to meet him at his home. Maybe Angelos has noticed.

Certainly, as a GM, the 56-year-old Amherst College grad has had a solid career. Taking over from Dombrowski, who had left to run the fledgling Marlins, Duquette hired Felipe Alou as manager, traded for Pedro Martinez from the Dodgers and built a great bullpen to back a deep rotation in 1994.

In Boston, finally arriving at his dream job, Duquette was handed a boatload of budget to work with, after the spartan budget he had worked with so successfully in Montreal. Armed with that Boston “make-it-rain” money, he obtained Pedro from the Expos, signed Manny Ramirez to a long-term deal and made shrewd trades with the Mariners and others to shape the core of the 2004 World Series champs, even if he was gone by then. And in his worst moment, disrespecting Roger Clemens and allowing him to walk away to Toronto for two straight Cy Young years, Duquette may not have been wrong if indeed it was the discovery of PEDs after leaving Fenway that revived the Rocket in his twilight years.

Duquette was out of MLB between being let go by the Bosox in 2002 and finally being hired by the Orioles, ahead of Jays’ current assistant GM Tony LaCava. Fact is, he had been available for anyone to hire, including the Jays — attending every winter meetings in that time as a job seeker, usually sitting alone in hallways and lobbies as disinterested execs passed by. Now, after three years with the O’s and two appearances in the playoffs, after 96 wins in 2015, his star is on the rise.

The way Jays ownership has handled this has been a disgrace. They have tarnished the legacy of Beeston, who was only going to stay on for one more season anyways. They have disrespected all Canadian presidential possibilities like current business exec Stephen Brooks. They have made a silent statement about, and thus made it difficult and uncomfortable for, current GM Alex Anthopoulos, who has not commented on the situation, perhaps too busy looking over his shoulder.

The fact is that Duquette is in a no-lose situation. The O’s are believed to be asking for at least two top prospects, led by Hoffman. MLB is on top of the situation because the move would be a promotion for Duquette and, since Peter Ueberroth in the 1980s, upward mobility is something they have encouraged. So the only thing that can prevent him from going to the Jays is a promotion and a raise in Baltimore, and president is something that O’s owner Angelos has liked to keep in the family.

The Jays should step away from this table.