Hot Stove Lunch: Red Sox take a hit with loss of Baird; Yanks pursuing Corbin

It won't be seen the same as, say, losing Craig Kimbrel or Nathan Eovaldi -- should they sign elsewhere -- but the Red Sox nonetheless lost a key member of their organization Wednesday when Allard Baird was hired by the New York Mets as vice president and assistant GM for scouting and player development.

Most recently, Baird had held the title of senior vice president of player personnel with the Sox. He had been with them since 2005, and for many of those years, had been the top talent evaluator for Theo Epstein, Ben Cherington and Dave Dombrowski.

If the Sox needed to make a trade -- either at the July deadline or the offseason -- it was often Baird whom the GMs relied upon to scout the players on the Red Sox radar and do a lot of the legwork. Think the Sox did a good job in obtaining Steve Pearce, Eovaldi and Ian Kinsler at the deadline? It's very likely that Baird was the eyes and ears for Dombrowski in making those deals, doing a lot of legwork on the players, their personalities and how well they might fit the Red  Sox roster.

Baird was not without his missteps during his tenure. It was Baird who spent several months researching Carl Crawford before the Sox made their ill-advised signing of the free agent. And Baird also was the lead Red Sox conduit on Rusney Castillo.

But mistakes get made. Evaluators misjudge. And Baird's good recommendations far outweigh his poor ones.

Meanwhile, Dave Dombrowski said that the Sox intend to replace Baird internally.

Elsewhere...

AL EAST

The Yankees are hosting Patrick Corbin, their top free agent target this winter, today at Yankee Stadium.

The Orioles need to rebuild their starting rotation. Here are some candidates.

The Blue Jays are looking for takers on catcher Russell Martin.

In contrast to past seasons, it appears as though the Rays won't have any non-tender candidates.

AL CENTRAL

Indians OF Michael Brantley was voted Comeback Player of the Year in the Players Choice Awards.

Old friend Jose Iglesias might represent a good fit for the Twins.

The White Sox have a tough call on their hands: whether to tender  OF Avisail Garcia.

Looking to keep their payroll at 90 million, the Royals are debating some non-tender possibilities.

AL CENTRAL

Could J.A. Happ return to Houston?

The opener who started the A's wild-card game last October is a non-tender candidate.

The Angels' minor league system is improving.

Madison Bumgarner might make some sense for the Rangers, but they don't appear to be among the bidders for him.

HOT TAKE I MIGHT SOON REGRET

Well, this will shock you -- tickets for the Red Sox-Yankees in London are expensive.

According to the Associated Press, the top tickets will run $493 while non-premium seats near the infield will go for  $410. Tickets in the outfield corners will range from $282 to $346. Bleacher seats will go for $154. In the upper deck, prices range from $38 to $218.

Clearly, MLB sees these games as not only a chance to grow the game with an international audience, but also, an opportunity to clean up at the box office.

Can't say this is a surprise. Increasingly, these ''international events'' are a cash grab for the league and teams. Still, disappointing that baseball seems to be pricing out a large number of potential fans.