Sure, it's a distraction. But in the Orioles’ reality, it’s not an unwelcome one.
When they arrived in Chicago on Monday for a four-game set against the White Sox, star shortstop Manny Machado found a gaggle of media waiting at Guaranteed Rate Field for his take on the ever-growing rumors that the Chicago Cubs could be the winning suitor for his services in a trade this summer, or in his money-spinning free agency this winter.
His teammates, seeing the waiting group, asked him whether he'd signed his $500 million contract and not told them.