For the next 12 months and perhaps longer, you'll be hearing about Manny Machado's contract. The Baltimore Orioles' star third baseman is eligible for free agency a year from now.
In what promises to be a tumultuous year for the team -- closer Zach Britton, center fielder Adam Jones, manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette all have contracts ending at the end of the 2018 season -- Machado's ups and downs are going to be monitored even more closely.
Let's take a look at five factors that could affect Machado in 2018.
