From Buster:
Manny Machado's injuries and the timing of them in the early climb through his career would seem to greatly hurt his chances of working out a very long-term deal with the Orioles before he becomes eligible for free agency.
Machado, 22, will have two years and 56 days of service time after this season, and he?ll be eligible for arbitration for the first time after next season. Given the unusual nature of his knee injuries, the Orioles would want to see him play through an extended period -- say, at least two seasons -- before they would consider giving him the sort of deal that would run into his late 20s. The Orioles have long been regarded by agents as a team leery of injury risk, and have backed away from free agents -- from Will Clark to Grant Balfour -- because of that factor.
But within another couple of seasons, Machado will be closing in on free agency, and if he bounces back in a big way and stays healthy over the next two seasons, his representation would presumably look for the Orioles to be very aggressive in keeping him.
This is not going to be a case in which the Orioles don?t want Machado, but it could develop into a situation in which the timing of his injuries will affect the team?s interest in working out a timely big-money, long-term deal
