So we wade through the comments and go by Dombrowski’s history of making big moves. Of course, the Red Sox traded Buchholz because he was scheduled to make $13.5 million this season. That’s a lot of money for a guy who was projected as the seventh starter. So he’s off to Philadelphia to begin his new life as a National League pitcher, which should be good for him.

He said in his conference call with the media Tuesday that he didn’t make the Clay Buchholz deal with Philadelphia for second baseman Josh Tobias to give him flexibility to make another move while staying under the luxury tax. But really, what’s left to do on this team other than replace David Ortiz and that monster production that has now left the Red Sox’ offense?

We haven’t known Dave Dombrowski very long here in Boston. But I’m going to assume one thing: He must know he needs another offensive piece to make this Red Sox team really, really strong.

As for the 24-year-old Tobias, yes, he is not rated among the top 30 Phillies prospects, according to rankings from Baseball America and MLB.com. We love Baseball America, but a very strong recommendation came from Ruben Amaro Jr., who was the Phillies’ general manager when they drafted Tobias in the 10th round in 2015 out of the University of Florida.


I asked Amaro whom he resembled as a player and he said Bill Madlock and Terry Pendleton. Those were two very good players and hitters.

“I don’t know if he’ll be that caliber of hitter, but if you ask me who he reminds me of, I’d say Madlock because of the body type,’’ Amaro said. “Madlock was righthanded and Josh is a switch-hitter. The other comparison would be Pendleton, again, that type of body. Pendleton was also a great hitter.’’


Tobias may not be the flashy tools guy that Yoan Moncada is, but he’s put up pretty good minor league numbers.

“I actually got a chance to see him play before we drafted him,” Amaro said. “I was down there seeing Vanderbilt and Florida. I love the way he swings the bat, particularly lefthanded. He ran good. A stocky-bodied guy. He’s an advanced hitter with good hands. He’s got good hand speed and bat speed. He’s performed pretty well in the early part of his career. I like him, and I like his makeup.’’

What I liked most about what Amaro said was “he’s a ballplayer.” That was once said about Dustin Pedroia. So the Red Sox got a “ballplayer” and they got rid of a fairly big salary.

Dombrowski said he doesn’t have to be concerned about the luxury tax threshold at this point. With the Red Sox’ payroll at about $180 million, they’re below the $195 million luxury tax threshold for the 2017 season. There’d be room for Jose Bautista, who would require surrendering a No. 1 draft pick, which would be the 26th pick, or they could search for a bargain bat, or they could trade for Victor Martinez and have Detroit assume some of his contract, which has two years and $36 million remaining. This is the last season teams have to surrender a No. 1 pick for signing a big-name free agent.

“I think we’d be more in a situation where we’re always looking for depth if you can,’’ Dombrowski said. “Where specifically that would be? If we started the year now we’d be content where we are. There are lot of free agent players still out there.”


Dombrowski went on to say that some of them might have a different outlook the longer they’re on the market. Maybe the salary demand comes down. We know Bautista would be a devastating hitter at Fenway. And if you got him you’d feel better about your offense. You can say until you’re blue in the face that Mitch Moreland and Pablo Sandoval can make up for the loss of Ortiz, but nobody is buying that, and I don’t think Dombrowski is, either.

So subtracting Buchholz’s deal “we would be under [the threshold] and we don’t have to do anything at all,’’ Dombrowski said. “In fact it gives us flexibility if we want to add, but it’s not a driving force.”

Dombrowski made similar comments about making a blockbuster before he made the Chris Sale deal.

We get it. It’s better to downplay the possibility of another big move because if you can’t pull it off you have to show the public you’re confident that the players you have can get the job done.

Dombrowski fielded a lot of calls on his excess starting pitching since the Winter Meetings. He told teams early on that he didn’t want to deal Drew Pomeranz. He knew that moving Buchholz was the right thing to do because the righthander was in the final year of a contract, he had no options left, and he would likely wind up in the bullpen being paid that large amount of money.


You can’t have enough pitching, but Dombrowski can always make a trade at the deadline, if needed. He’s got three elite guys at the top of the rotation in David Price, Sale, and Rick Porcello. He’s got an up-and-coming starter in Eduardo Rodriguez. And as Dombrowski pointed out, he’s got two other pitchers who made the All-Star team last season in Steven Wright and Pomeranz. Not bad.

Dombrowski said he spoke to Buchholz and he described Buchholz as “very understanding.”

“We thanked him for everything he did in the organization,’’ Dombrowski said. “He appreciated what everyone did for him. He enjoyed his time here. A change of scenery and a new opportunity is not always a bad thing.”

Like the veteran executive he is, Dombrowski wasn’t going to tip off his intentions for the remainder of the winter.

I’d be truly shocked if Dombrowski was done trying to improve the offense. He’s been around long enough to know that players who had career years don’t always repeat them. He’s been around long enough to know that there’s nobody in that lineup who can produce like Ortiz. He lost the major league OPS leader and the intangibles that are off the charts.

The public loves the Sale deal, but for Dombrowski to leave a major spot in the order vacant because of the luxury tax? That wouldn’t go over well with Red Sox fans.


Follow Nick Cafardo on Twitter at @nickcafardo.