Analysis: Dombrowski hints that free agency - rather than a trade - will be Red Sox' preferred approach

ORLANDO  - Dave Dombrowski didn’t tip his hand Monday, but he came close.

Two years ago, when asked whether he expected the Red Sox to fill their two biggest needs through trade or free agency, Dombrowski provided a candid answer, guessing that he would obtain a starting pitcher through free agency and a closer via trade. Sure enough, even before the winter meetings began, Dombrowski had signed David Price and made a deal for Craig Kimbrel.

As the GM meetings got underway here Monday, Dombrowski received a similar query: did he expect the Sox would find a power bat through free agency or trade?

“There are a lot of options,’’ said Dombrowski. “There are a lot of different people out there that fit that description of first base/DH/proven bat. I don’t really have one way that we’re leaning, one way or another.’’

But the more Dombrowski talked, the more it seemed likely that the Sox will likely go the free agent route in their efforts to improve the offense.

“We have a good club. We won 93 games,’’ he noted. “We won the A.L. East two years in a row. We have a real good foundation of players that we like and really can be a foundation for years to come. We’re not looking to overhaul our team; we’re looking to fine-tune.

‘’I think it’s a situation where you’re open to everything, but we’re really not looking to make a major overhaul to our club. Now, how do you get that person? Sometimes, that philosophy doesn’t fit because maybe you can’t get that player.  But we like the foundation of our club.’’

If the Sox were to make a move for the Miami Marlins’ Giancarlo Stanton, they would likely have to give up a young, controllable player from their major league roster. Andrew Benintendi is one name mentioned, though the Marlins seem to want to identify pitching if they moved Stanton.

One name that might fit that profile would be Eduardo Rodriguez, but he’s recovering from knee surgery, and the Sox have shown little willingness to deal any of their pitching.

If the Sox want to avoid breaking up their nucleus in a deal for Stanton, or fear that they would be creating one hole while solving another, that would mean they might have to deal prospects from their minor league system.

But the Sox have already cut into their inventory of prospects in deals for Kimbrel (Manuel Margot, Javier Guerra), Chris Sale (Michael Kopech, Yoan Moncada) and Tyler Thornburg (Mauricio Dubon, Josh Pennington, Yeison Coca).

Those deals have thinned out the system to the point where the Sox don’t want to further strip their prospect base further.

“You have to be careful at some point,’’ said Dombrowski. “We’ve traded a lot of young guys. We’re trying to rebuild our system at the same time, with our draft picks. I think we’ve started that already. We’ve got a couple of guys who are close (to contributing at the major league level).

“But you have to be careful in that regard. I think we have good players already. I’m not really looking to trade a bunch of young guys.’’

So, to review: Dombrowski doesn’t want to tear up the roster which has been good enough to win the division the last two seasons and he’s mindful that the minor league system has already been depleted and wants to add to it, not subtract.

Doesn’t that sound an awful lot like someone who is focusing mostly on the free agent market in search of a power bat?

And we know who leads that group: J.D. Martinez of the Diamondbacks.