Hot Stove Lunch: If not J.D. for Red Sox, how about Jay? Plus, bold move by the A's 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

Let's say the current stalemate between the Red Sox and agent Scott Boras regarding free agent slugger J.D. Martinez continues for a while. Let's say the Red Sox refuse to budge off their reported five-year offer and Boras won't take anything less than seven years. And let's say Boras takes Martinez elsewhere -- either for a lengthier contract than the Sox are willing to give, or a shorter, "pillow'' deal.

Then what? What are the Red Sox left with to improve their lineup for 2018.

To be sure, there are still options on the free agent market. More than 130 players remain unsigned.

From here, it seems like the best bet might be Jay Bruce. Bruce is not the slugger that Martinez is, of course. But he has hit 30 or more homers in five of the last six seasons and posted a slugging percentage of .500 or better in each of the last two years.

There's competition for Bruce. San Francisco, Toronto and others have been linked to him in recent weeks. But he won't cost nearly what Martinez will. A guess might be a four-year deal between $80 and $90 million.

It's not the optimum play. But if the Sox are serious about limiting their exposure on a long deal for Martinez, it's not a bad alternative.

AL EAST

Ken Davidoff writes that maybe the Yankees would be better off waiting when it comes to their starting rotation.

The Rays are in good shape at the catcher's position.

The infield remains an area of strength for the Blue Jays.

The Orioles are holding their annual winter mini-camp in Sarasota next week.

AL CENTRAL

The Indians sent out some invites to spring training to a bunch of non-roster players.

A look at some position battles coming up for the Detroit Tigers.

The Twins signed a minor league batting champ for some outfield depth.

AL WEST

The Rangers still have some holes to fill and here's what they might do to fill them

Sad news: a longtime Angels coach -- and former major league -- passed away at the age of 64.

Now that the Buffalo Bills are in the playoffs, the Mariners are on the clock.

The A's have an offer their fans can't refuse in April

NL

Joel Sherman has some thoughts on how to fix the Mets.

TAKE I MAY REGRET IN A MONTH

Billy Beane has never been one who is afraid of taking chances. Recall that Beane helped revolutionize the game with his commitment to analytics, which was detailed in the book -- and, later, movie -- "Moneyball.''

Now, Beane's Oakland A's have broken another mold, announcing the hiring of Haley Alvarez, who will be the A's scouting coordinator. The A's have long been at forefront of giving women opportunities -- they've had a woman work as their director of baseball administration for more than 20 years and two years ago, hired a woman to work as a coach in their team's Instructional League program.

Good for the A's. It would be nice to see other organizations follow their lead -- again.