So far the MLB rumors during the “hot stove” season have been, well, rather cold. Outside of the New York Yankees either making deals or constantly being rumored to pull the trigger with several different teams for a possible starting pitcher, most of the winter has been a bit boring on the MLB front. Two of the bigger names in free agency are still waiting to find a home, and both of them have been linked to the Red Sox. a report by the Boston Herland provided a lot of information for this article.

J.D. Martinez willing to hold out?

Will he or won’t he?

That is the big question when it comes to free agent J.D. Martinez and his strong rumored ties to sign a deal with the Boston Red Sox. Martinez has been rumored to be heading to the Red Sox since the very first day of the offseason. So why is J.D. and Red Sox GM Dave Dombrowski dancing around each other? Money and length of the contract, of course.

Chat Sports indicates that Boston has been eyeing former longtime Detroit Tiger J.D. Martinez, and Martinez seemingly has interest in heading to the east coast as well. The problem is the two sides can't agree on a deal. J.D. reportedly wants a six-year deal with the BoSox. Right now the Red Sox are only offering a five-year package. Could a one year difference be a deal breaker?

FanRag Sports also reported that many people who are in J.D.'s inner circle are reportedly indicating that Martinez is willing to hold out for the best deal, even if that means not reporting to Spring Training with any team. Only time will tell whether that helps or hurts the slugging right fielder. Many experts believe that Martinez is just asking for too much money.

Reportedly, Martinez is asking for a $200 million deal.

Darvish to Red Sox possible?

Could the Red Sox be interested in signing Yu Darvish? It is no secret that Boston tried to acquire Darvish at the trade deadline last season. Are the Sox back on the Darvish bandwagon? Darvish indicated that a "mystery team" is pursuing him, just a few months ago.

Could that be the Red Sox? If Boston feels they just have no shot at signing Martinez, they may go in big time on trying to land Darvish. If this game of possum continues, Darvish could be the big winner - that is if he has interest in heading to Boston this summer.

Recently, Darvish released a short list of teams that he is interested in playing for, which include the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Don’t let that fool you. If the price is right and the interest is there, Boston could be a late player for the right-handed star.