How the transfer rule is trying to make athletes employees instead of students

Given that the Orioles are terrible and that pending free agent Manny Machado is the opposite of terrible, it seems highly likely that the star infielder will be moved in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline.  Machado in his age-25 season is batting .311/.378/.565 (160 OPS+) with 21 home runs in 83 games. That’s on pace to be easily a career year for Machado, and he’s also proved himself capable of returning to the shortstop position in 2018. He’s going to get paid this coming offseason, and he may wind up fetching a bigger contract than Bryce Harper does.  In the here and now, though, Machado is very likely on his way to a contender. Here’s what CBS Sports HQ MLB analyst Jim Bowden says