Hot Stove Lunch: Perhaps the Red Sox should wait it out; also, Yanks again happy to be Evil Empire 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

Maybe it's posturing. Maybe it's a negotiating tactic, aimed at agent Scott Boras. But speaking to Dave Dombrowski Thursday, it sure seemed like he was preparing for the possibility the Red Sox could go to spring training as is in just over three weeks.

Time and again, Dombrowski has said he would "like'' to add another big bat to the lineup to boost the Red Sox' power potential. Of course, J.D. Martinez is the presumed top target, but two sides appear miles apart in contract talks.

Dombrowski made an effort Thursday to deflect questions about free agency to remind everyone that this same Red Sox team won 93 games last year, and that there's the expectation that several key players could have better, more productive seasons.

If the Sox don't do anything major before the start of the season, it's unlikely to sit well with much of the fan base. But it may not be a bad tactic. The Sox could always revisit the hitter's market at the July deadline, at which time some rentals could become available at a cheaper price.

And such a strategy would be preferable to overpaying for someone when there seems to be little competition. It makes little sense for the Sox to be bidding against themselves.

AL EAST

Everyone hates the Yankees again -- which is fine with CC Sabathia.

Roch Kubatko catches up with Buck Showalter on the Orioles off-season.

Someone alert Mike Francesa: the Blue Jays have signed reliever Al Alburquerque.

AL CENTRAL

The Tigers' payroll is down compared to recent years as the team rebuilds.

The Twins are bringing back former pitching great Jim Kaat as a special assistant.

Top White Sox prospect Eloy Jimenez knows that a lot is expected  of him.

A broadcast legend is set to call Royals games for his 50th season.

AL WEST

It's time for the A's to make a splash in free agency.

With some new additions, there's excitement over the Rangers' starting rotation.

A look at the Mariners' Top 10 prospects as determined by Baseball America.

NL 

Adrian Gonzalez blames the Red Sox for his bad reputation.

TAKE I MAY REGRET IN A MONTH:

It seems inevitable now that a pitch clock is coming to baseball in 2018.

Negotiations between commissioner Rob Manfred and the Players Association didn't yield any agreement, but Manfred has it within his rights to unilaterally implement changes to improve pace-of-play.

According to reports, MLB wants a 20-second pitch clock, which has been in use in the minors since 2015. Also coming: a limit on how many mound visits can be made per inning.

These are positives which could help speed up the time of games. How sad is it that the union couldn't see its way to working with the commissioner's office to get these rules implemented?