When Manny Machado thrived in his first days in the big leagues, he appeared to be the heir to the Baltimore Orioles legacy left behind by Cal Ripken Jr. -- the multidimensional player a franchise could build around and, even in the worst of times, someone so good that he could be marketed as hope to fans.

But the window of opportunity for the Orioles to sign Machado to a long-term deal has probably passed, and Machado is just two winters away from reaching free agency and becoming a rare case of a 26-year-old star who hits the open market.

Unless Machado suffers a career-altering injury in the next two seasons, he will be in line to land a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the winter of 2018-19, with the Phillies or Yankees or Dodgers or some other big-market team. Mike Trout is widely regarded as baseball's best player, but Machado is in the next-best conversation, and he's getting better.

Last season, Machado had career highs in batting average (.294) and slugging percentage (.533), and since he broke into the big leagues, Machado is fifth in defensive runs saved despite missing significant time to knee injuries. He and Nolan Arenado are considered the best third-base defenders in the sport, and Machado also could shift to his natural position at shortstop, which he has done as needed for the Orioles.

The website MLBTradeRumors.com projects Machado to make $11.2 million in arbitration in 2017, which would place his earnings to date at somewhere in the range of $20 million, including his amateur draft bonus. This means that at this stage in his career, Machado has the financial leverage to afford to wait for free agency. Talks between the player and the Orioles earlier in Machado's career did not reach the finish line, and now there's virtually no chance they will find a middle ground on a contract, given the riches that await Machado on the horizon.