Hot Stove Lunch: With Ohtani and Stanton headed elsewhere, Red Sox start search anew; Yankees experience disappointment, too and more

This is a 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:

It's the first week of December, and already, the Red Sox are out of contention for the two biggest names on the market: slugger Giancarlo Stanton and Japanese import Shohei Ohtani. The talks with the Marlins never got very far due to the insistence on a package of young talent in addition to having to take on better than $250 million, while Ohtani eliminated the Red Sox -- and a host of other teams, too -- on Sunday.

So, the Red Sox miss out on two huge stars, either of whom would have sent the team's fan base into delirium, and not incidentally, helped the winter ticket sale push. Stanton and Ohtani are the types of name who would have dominated the Hot Stove season and ramped up interest in the Sox all the way until the start of spring training.

That sort of juice would have been welcomed by the Sox, who were accused of being dull and unlikable even as they won the AL East last season.

But that doesn't mean that there aren't some intriguing options still available for the Sox. Signing J.D. Martinez may not be quite as exciting as obtaining Stanton or winning the bidding for Ohtani, but he'd still be a welcome addition to a lineup that desperately needs an infusion of power.

And as we've learned in the past, this is about much more than "winning the winter.'' The Sox have done that before, with Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, only to find that it didn't mean much when the games began.

Among some fans, there's probably some residual disappointment that the two biggest names on the market are going elsewhere. But there are still some very good alternatives, which will begin coming into focus more clearly with the winter meetings set to begin a week from today.

AL EAST

The Yankees were considered by nearly everyone to be the favorites to land Ohtani. Just last week, they made a trade to acquire more international bonus pool money. Now, they have to deal with the disappointment of not signing him, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News.

The Baltimore Orioles badly need starting pitching, but don't have the resources to compete for the top starters on the free agent market. Maybe they'll have better luck finding help in the bargain bin, suggest the Baltimore Sun.

AL CENTRAL

Michael Martinez -- briefly a member of the Red Sox in 2015 -- is returning to the Indians - again.

Former Red Sox reliever Alex Wilson had a brutal 2017. He's hoping for a better year next season.

Over the weekend, the Chicago White Sox seemed to come out of nowhere to sign free agent catcher Wellington Castillo.

Facing the potential loss of four everyday players as free agents, the Kansas City Royals might have to prepare for a total rebuild, suggests Rustin Dodd.

AL WEST

The Angels got some bad news about a pitching prospect.

While a lot of teams got some bad news regarding Ohtani over the weekend, the Seattle Mariners are sitting in a very good position.

The Texas Rangers, who have the most money available to spend on Ohtani, are still in the mix.

NATIONAL LEAGUE:

It now seems virtually certain that Giancarlo Stanton will be staying in the National League, with deals in place with the Giants and Cardinals and the Dodgers still lurking.

HOT TAKE I MAY REGRET IN A FEW MONTHS:

Shohei Ohtani is a free agent, emphasis on the "free'' -- he can do whatever he pleases. That's his right. But I find it a bit odd that only a week ago, Ohtani was asking all 30 major league clubs to answer a lengthy questionnaire about their intentions and plans for him, only to have the vast majority of those clubs eliminated from his consideration on Sunday.  If Ohtani knew, as it now seems, that he didn't want to play for a team on the East Coast, why not make that clear from the outset and save teams' time?