Hot Stove Lunch: Still waiting for first Red Sox shoe to drop; CC willing to wait his turn and more

This is a new daily BSJ off-season feature that will arrive in time for your lunch, Monday-Friday.

A spin around the leagues with the latest news, notes, and rumors around Major League Baseball:

RED SOX

The silence on Yawkey Way is deafening. The last Red Sox game took place better than seven weeks ago, and yet, beyond the change in manager, there's been no news emanating from Fenway Park.

No trades, no free agent signings, nothing.

To be fair, it's the same everywhere. When -- no disrespect -- Doug Fister is the only "significant'' free-agent signing nearly a month after the process began, you know it's been a cool Hot Stove season.

There are plenty of theories about the inertia: the looming presence of Shohei Ohtani and the possibility of a deal involving Giancarlo Stanton chief among them.

But this can't be good for business. Dan Shaughnessy wrote a column last week suggesting that the Celtics have overtaken the Red Sox in popularity and while I don't necessarily agree with the premise, there's no getting away from the fact that people don't seem to be talking much about the Sox this winter.

Ordinarily, there's an ongoing debate about what the team should do to improve. But what little discussion exists on those topics has been drowned out by the Patriots push for a sixth Super Bowl, the budding goaltending controversy with the Bruins and the Celtics' remarkable resiliency after the Gordon Hayward injury.

For a team coming off two straight division titles, that's not a good sign. And sure, it's relatively early still. The start of spring training is still better than two months away and the Winter Meetings in another 10 days will surely result in some transactions.

But the inaction -- and the resulting quiet -- should concern a team which has managed to disappear in the 50 days since its season ended.

AL EAST

CC Sabathia, who's a free agent, says he's fine with being part of a six-man rotation -- should he return to the Yankees. No word on whether he's changed his mind on bunting.

Sportsnet.ca takes a look at whether former Red Sox infielder Eduardo Nunez makes sense for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Manny Machado is less than a year away from being part of a star-studded free agent class for 2018-19. The Baltimore Sun examines why it might be tough for the Orioles to deal him before that.

AL CENTRAL

Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes that the Indians are more likely to make trades rather than sign free agents this winter.

Much of the focus in Kansas City has been on the potential free agent losses of Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain. But don't forget about the shortstop, writes Lee Judge.

AL WEST

Now that the Texas Rangers have Fister signed, sealed and delivered, they're setting their sights higher to improve their rotation, writes Evan Grant.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Well, this is interesting: The Marlins apparently warned Giancarlo Stanton that if he didn't accept a trade elsewhere, he'd be stuck on a really bad team. Interesting off-season marketing strategy, wouldn't you say?

TAKE I MAY REGRET IN A FEW MONTHS

The Eli Manning mess in New York got me thinking: what would be the Red Sox equivalent to that story? What recent Red Sox legend, nearing the end of his career, would have been in that same awkward spot?

And the quick answer is: there isn't one. David Ortiz was, of course, still formidable at 40 and the Red Sox were in contention for his final season. Pedro Martinez? Nope, still a decent starter in his final year before free agency and nowhere near finished in his career? Nomar Garciaparra? Nope, traded mid-season, having recently turned 31.

The truth is, the Sox haven't faced this scenario, and for that, they can be thankful.