Hot Stove Lunch: Where's the competition for Martinez? Also, Yanks trying for Machado 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 now a given that it will take a while for the Red Sox to achieve their goal of landing a middle-of-the-order bat. Dave Dombrowski reiterated Thursday morning that things really aren't much closer to a resolution.

But here's something worth pondering: if, as all evidence suggests, J.D. Martinez is the Red Sox' main focus, where is his market elsewhere?

The San Francisco Giants, who are in desperate need of a bat, don't appear all that interested, as they would prefer to get a reset on their tax rate. The St. Louis Cardinals are out now that they have Marcell Ozuna. The Arizona Diamondbacks would love to retain Martinez, but first would have to move the considerable salary of Zack Greinke to make room for Martinez on the payroll.

That's not to suggest that Martinez doesn't have other options. And agent Scott Boras is expert at dragging out negotiations and introducing the fabled "mystery team'' to create leverage.

Maybe Toronto will get into the bidding. Or an unexpected team like San Diego, which is already focused on Eric Hosmer. But for now, the Sox wouldn't seem to have a ton of competition for their top free agent choice.

AL EAST

The Yankees aren't stopping. They're trying to get creative and find a way to land Manny Machado in a three-way deal.

Ken Davidoff writes that before the Yankees do anything else, they should bring back CC Sabathia

Roch Kubatko checks in with some Orioles' perspective on the Machado talks.

The Blue Jays have been very quiet at the winter meetings.

The Rays are starting to get a sense of where the trade market stands as they listen on offers for their players.

AL CENTRAL

The Indians are debating whether to move starter Danny Salazar

The Twins have their sights set on Yu Darvish

After making another run at a division title last year, the Royals are payroll-cutting mode.

It's unclear whether they'd end up holding onto him, but the White Sox are, indeed, in on Machado.

It appears as though the tear-down has begun with the Tigers, who dealt off Ian Kinsler

AL WEST

The Angels continue to be active, landing Kinsler as their new second baseman

Stephen Piscotty is heading back to his Bay Area home

The Texas Rangers continue to consider a deal for Zach Greinke -- but it's complicated.

The Astros made a move to bolster their bullpen.

NL

The Cardinals landed the big bat they needed and may not be done.

TAKE I MAY REGRET IN A FEW MONTHS

Brian Cashman and Dombrowski have exchanged good-natured barbs over the last year as to which of their teams more closely resembled the uber-talented Golden State Warriors.

There doesn't seem to much question about which one fits that description now. The Yankees have already obtained Giancarlo Stanton and are reportedly trying to get creative and land Manny Machado. And can Bryce Harper, headed for free agency in a year's time, be far from their thoughts?

The Yankees are assembling -- or trying to assemble -- a team of All-Stars, in a trend which looks like something out of the NBA playbook. But that can be a tricky proposition if the pieces don't all fit together. It's not the NBA, where you need on-court chemistry, since baseball is, at its heart, an individual sport.

But it still bears watching, even as Red Sox fans fret that the Yanks are pulling away from the Sox in the talent department.