McAdam: Don't expect a lot of offseason activity from Red Sox

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- A little more than a week into the start of baseball's offseason, it's becoming increasingly clear that this figures to be a relatively quiet winter for the Red Sox.

At the GM Meetings here, which wrapped up Thursday morning, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski spent far more time listening than he did speaking -- and that was only partially because he battled a severe case of laryngitis during the week.

Dombrowski, of course, is open to hearing what his colleagues have to say. You never know when something will be proposed to improve your team -- now, or in the future.

But for the most part, Dombrowski is intent on keeping together the roster which won a franchise-record 108 games before steamrolling (11-3) three of the best teams in the game during the postseason.

It's a strategy that he put to good use a year ago.

Following a second straight first-round exit in 2017, Dombrowski, somewhat curiously, chose to make only two significant changes. But they were, with the benefit of hindsight, huge in impact. First, he dismissed John Farrell and weeks later replaced him with Alex Cora. Then, after a winter-long dance with agent Scott Boras, Dombrowski landed free agent slugger J.D. Martinez.

The former transformed the team's attitude and culture, while the latter turned an underperforming lineup into an offensive juggernaut, with his presence, his run production and his willingness to help other hitters off the field.

It's doubtful that Dombrowski will make a move this offseason to match the impact of those two. Then again, he doesn't have to. As baseball's defending champions, the onus is on other teams to match the Red Sox.

Which isn't to suggest that the Red Sox are perfect as presently constituted. They risk losing their closer, a second key late-inning bullpen piece and, arguably, the most valuable pitcher from their recent triumphant postseason run.

But Dombrowski has options to replenish his roster.

If, as expected, Craig Kimbrel signs elsewhere with a team willing to give him a long-term deal at the top of the marketplace, the Sox have a number of ways to proceed. They can choose from a handful of established relievers in free agency (Andrew Miller, Zach Britton, Jeurys Familia). Or, they could turn inward and give the role to either Matt Barnes or Ryan Brasier.

Should Joe Kelly yearn to pitch closer to his West Coast home, the Sox would be similarly positioned to find alternatives to help re-stock the spot vacated by his leaving.

Nathan Eovaldi, who is already finding himself in high demand, would be the toughest free agent to piece to replace, since there are few free agents who can match his combination of pure stuff and flexibility -- to say nothing of the shocking durability Eovaldi demonstrated in October.

But beyond those three items on the shopping list, Dombrowski has remarkably few needs. Every regular position player is under control to return for 2019, and the same is true for a number of reserve players to provide depth.

This sort of constancy is rare in the game. Consider that, in the mere five years between the last Red Sox championship and the most recent title, just two players -- Xander Bogaerts and Brandon Workman -- were common threads to both postseason rosters.

Now, however, the Red Sox are situated to have essentially the same lineup for the third year running -- with Martinez the lone impact addition.

After 2019, it starts getting far more complicated, with half of the rotation (Chris Sale and Rick Porcello) along with Bogaerts on the brink of free agency. The year after, MVP-to-be Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr. can walk.

(In fact, Dombrowski's time may be best utilized over the new few months in getting a head start on determining which of his upcoming free agents he should keep and then working toward getting extensions done.)

But for now, there's a stability in place and little in the way of pressing needs. Dombrowski's to-do list will certainly get longer in the coming weeks as the offseason pace intensifies and decisions have to be made.

In the immediate afterglow of the World Series, however, the Red Sox can maintain their perch with only a few tweaks to the pitching staff -- and watch the rest of the league scramble to match them.