CARLSBAD, Calif. -- On the heels of a World Series title, the first priority for the Red Sox this off-season is to attempt to re-sign at least some of their seven free agents. According to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, the interest in reuniting with those players is mutual.

Dombrowski said Tuesday that all of the Sox' free agents (Nathan Eovaldi, Craig Kimbrel, Joe Kelly, Steve Pearce, Ian Kinsler and Drew Pomeranz) have told the team they have interest in returning.

"We have an abundance of free agents," Dombrowski said. "We have seven, so they're in different categories. Some of the guys that we'd like to re-sign, they know that. But they're also free agents. We'll continue staying in contact with them and see what happens. They know we're interested, but they also want to find out what the market is. All of them have expressed a desire to come back, but only time will tell."

Dombrowski has told "most, but not all" of Boston's free agents that they are a priority for the team. In turn, he believes most of the seven will give the Red Sox a chance to match any offer before departing.

"I think they all will stay in contact with us," he said. "I think most of them will do that, but if somebody says here's an offer that blows you away and you sign it right now or not, they'll probably sign it."

Kimbrel and Eovaldi stick out as the top guys the Sox would want to bring back, with Pearce also fitting well into the projected 2019 roster. Kelly and Kinsler are considered less likely.

Boston issued a qualifying offer to Kimbrel, meaning he has the option to return on a one-year, $17.9 million deal instead of testing free agency. Dombrowski expects him to reject that offer, at which point Boston's off-season plan will be "somewhat' determined by the pursuit of its closer.

"He may be calling around seeing what else is out there," Dombrowski said. "You don't want to be caught by surprise when you're out there pursuing something real strong."