Harold Reynolds on Manny Machado: "It's hard to give one player all that money" (video)

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Orioles fans and Orioles management both know it's the elephant in the room. Third baseman Manny Machado will be a free agent after the 2018 season. Can the team re-sign him to what would potentially be a massive contract or do the O's consider trading him if they can't re-up the 24-year-old superstar?

In a video interview today at the Winter Meetings, MLB Network's Harold Reynolds, a former Oriole, talked about Machado and a future that could find him playing for another team.

"What we are seeing now, the young stars like Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout - unless you lock them up young, you are going to run into these enormous offer opportunities. That is where we're at right now," Reynolds said.

"Bryce Harper is rumored at $400 million and Manny Machado is right there, too. Mike Trout has already set the bar at $144 (million) and he's going to be a free agent at 28. The numbers are getting a little crazy.

"You know you hate to see it, (but) it may come to a point where he is going to have to be moved. Just because it is hard to give one player all that money. It just doesn't work in baseball. Other sports, it might. Baseball is tough to do if you want to have a sustainable chance to battle and challenge.

"We'll see. It may come down to conversations to see maybe if you can get him at what price. That's a big number. I think the Chris Davis contract plays a lot into this. Because the Orioles don't have a lot of money. They put a lot of money into Chris Davis and that production is going to have to be there. It puts a lot of pressure on him and the organization to have that one big dog really come through."

Reynolds took a look at the Orioles starting rotation, which features six pitchers for five spots at the moment.

"The big you thing is you have to have depth," Reynolds said. "It might not be six. It might be seven or eight to get through a season. With the Orioles, it's get to that bullpen and try to get the ball to the big fella back there, Mr. (Zach) Britton. The key is for the starters (is) to give you length and give you depth. They're going to mix and match.

"I think the front three are more important than the back. Because the back is going to continue to change. It may fall on (Kevin) Gausman and (Dylan) Bundy to take that next step."

I asked Reynolds if he feels Gausman and Bundy can do that.

"The stuff is there," he said of the young right-handers. "The experience is there. I think the one thing people forget is you look around the league and see some other young starters sometimes step up and get to it (success) quick. But it's tough to pitch in Baltimore. You are going to face some amazing lineups and also pitch in Camden Yards. You give up a cheap home run and next thing you know you want to throw curveballs and get in trouble. That can stunt your growth a little bit. You go through that lump and you have to figure out how you need to pitch to be successful."