Hot Stove Lunch: Sox, Yankees battling it out for Eovaldi; do the Nats still have money for Harper?

Rare is the offseason in which the Red Sox and Yankees aren't targeting the same player, and now that Patrick Corbin has spurned the Yankees (and the Phillies, for that matter) and signed with the Washington Nationals, we've arrived at that point this winter.

The object of their affection this time is starter Nathan Eovaldi, who, already has played for both teams.

The Yankees wanted Corbin because he was lefthanded and accomplished. But they didn't want him enough to go to six years. So, they've turned checkbooks on Eovaldi and, perhaps, retaining J.A. Happ.

Eovaldi, meanwhile, is the Red Sox' primary free agent target. That much was made clear by both Dave Dombrowski and Alex Cora earlier this week.

But both teams have their limits. The Red Sox have other upcoming free agents of their own they need to re-sign, and the Yankees would prefer to stay under the $206 million luxury tax threshold.

And the Red Sox and Yankees aren't the only one in the market for Eovaldi. A handful of others are  interested, too, including Eovaldi's hometown Houston Astros.

But nothing drives the bidding up for a player like having both the Red Sox and Yankees interested at once. And nothing keeps the rivalry going in the winter like the teams going after the same player.

Elsewhere...

AL EAST

Now that they've lost out on Corbin, where do the Yankees turn for pitching help?

The Rays, ever-innovative, are the first to hire a "process and analytics'' coach.

A look at how the Orioles are trying to play catch up when it comes to analytics.

The Blue Jays will soon have a ton of payroll flexibility.

AL CENTRAL

The Indians continue to field offers for their veteran starting pitchers.

Michael Fulmer is getting healthy again.

It appears the White Sox are quite serious about Bryce Harper.

Does Billy Hamilton make sense for the Royals?

AL WEST

The Astros beefed up their catching with a free agent signing.

Texas took a chance on a pitcher recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Could the Angels have an interest in adding a second Japanese pitcher to their rotation?

A look at where the A's stand with their payroll for 2019.

The Mariners have torn it all down, but it didn't have to be this way, writes Bob Nightengale.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Now that the Nationals have spent $140 million on Corbin, does that take them out of re-signing Harper?

HOT TAKE I MAY SOON REGRET

According to Jayson Stark of The Athletic, there's a decent chance that baseball restricts how teams deploy the shift.

Doing so would, of course, go a long way toward generation additional action -- and by extension, scoring -- to the game, at a time when baseball has become fairly one-dimensional. Too many balls in play are being turned into outs, and sometimes, it seems, the only way to score is to hit the ball out of the ballpark.

Anything that helps pick up play and results in more action should be a good thing.

But I'm wondering if this isn't a bit too radical, and too soon.

Shouldn't hitters be able to figure out a way around the shift? Shouldn't some of these remedies come organically?

Look, other sports (the NFL in particular) are constantly adjusting the rules to create more offense and more scoring. And it's hard to argue that fans (for the most part) want more hits and more runs.

But maybe we should give this one a bit more time to consider before introducing radical changes. Instead, baseball would be better served to continue to study ways to improve the pace of play.