Poll: Do Red Sox owe it to fans to make a splash this winter?

The Winter Meetings are winding down in Nashville and thus far, have been kind of a dud.

Gone are the days of headline-grabbing signings and trades made during a once hectic 72-hour period. The hot stove these days is more of a lukewarm space heater. At least for the Red Sox.

Per reports streaming out of the meetings, they're out on Shohei Ohtani and have turned attention elsewhere. Where exactly? Well, we're still trying to figure that out. Yesterday on The Drive, Red Sox insider Sean McAdam said the Sox also don't appear to be at the forefront of the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes. This after every report leading into the weekend suggested the Japanese star was at the top of the Sox' wish list. Though, with a bidding war in effect, it seems his potential contract may be ballooning to a place where Boston doesn't feel comfortable going.

Yes, it's still very early in the offseason. And yes, the Sox have the pieces to make any move they want, whether it's opening the checkbook or emptying out some of the cupboard while dealing prospects for instant impact MLB talent. But does that mean they will?

It hasn't in recent years, though there was a definite feeling among Red Sox Nation that when Chaim Bloom lost his job as interest in the club wanned, it would signal a return to the big spending ways. That's yet to happen.

As John Henry and Co. learned last year, if you run your team like a small market club, you're going to get small market levels of interest from the fanbase.