MESA, Ariz. — At this rate, it almost seems like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper may never sign.
Fans and media are worn out by the free agency stalemate of the two superstars and other players around the league are undoubtedly tired of being asked about it.
Including Albert Almora Jr., who grew up with Machado in the Miami area; the two are so close, they refer to each other as cousins.
Machado was actually at the baptism for Almora's second son, Tino, last week along with Kyle Schwarber, but Almora insists he doesn't talk about free agency — or even baseball — with his childhood buddy.
"At my son's baptism, we were with family," Almora said. "Smoked a cigar, we had a good time. There were a lot of childhood friends that we had there — we talked about stories, we talked about fishing. Baseball was not a topic I wanted to talk about, especially because I didn't want to feel in that position because I knew I was going to get asked these questions and I don't want to know anything.
"It's none of my business. I think he's gonna do well, he's earned that. But I'm playing for the Chicago Cubs and that's all I know."
MLB
Plausible deniability — savvy move by the young veteran.
Almora has had plenty else to occupy his time this winter, from spending time with his two young sons to growing out his hair to getting in the best shape of his life to coming to terms with the fact he was the final batter of the 2018 Cubs season — "I hate being the last out. I'll never forget that," he said.
Still, Almora can't help but take notice of the free agency freezeout for Machado and a host of other players that has now lingered almost a full week into spring training.
"There's a lot of great talent out there that doesn't have a home," Almora said. "It's unfortunate. As a fan of the game, those are peers. Those are people that have worked really hard to deserve to be where they're at right now in free agency and that don't have homes right now starting spring training.
"It's tough to swallow, but we'll see what happens."
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