The protracted saga of the Toronto Blue Jays' pursuit of Dan Duquette appears to be nearing an end.

ESPN's Jim Bowden reported on Thursday afternoon that the team was close to reaching an agreement with the Baltimore Orioles that would see the long-time MLB executive move to the Jays in the role of president.

Because Duquette is still under contract as general manager with the Orioles, the Jays would have to pay compensation to their AL East rivals for his services. ESPN's Buster Olney reports that the compensation could be significant with Jeff Hoffman's name being brought up in talks. A right-handed pitcher, Hoffman was the Jays' first pick in last summer's MLB Amateur Draft, taken ninth overall out of East Carolina.

Roch Kubatko, an Orioles reporter for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, reports that the compensation for Duquette could be more substantial than initially expected as a trade-off for the Orioles not filing a tampering claim against the Blue Jays over their courtship of Duquette.

Last week, Orioles owner Peter Angelos had told the Baltimore Sun that there was nothing to report on the negotiations and that he expected Duquette to remain in his role with the club.

Duquette would succeed current Blue Jays president and CEO, Paul Beeston. Beeston, 69, is in his second stint as the team's lead executive. In 1997, Beeston left the role after eight seasons and two World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 to become the president of Major League Baseball. He returned to the Jays in 2008 after the departure of Paul Godfrey.

A former GM of both the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, Duquette has been with the Orioles since 2011. Under Duquette, the Orioles have twice made the playoffs, including last season when the team won the American League East before bowing out of the postseason in the ALCS against the Kansas City Royals.