49ers general manager Trent Baalke spoke to reporters at the NFL’s annual owners meetings this week in Boca Raton, Flo., and was asked specifically about his team’s slow approach to free agency.

After finishing 5-11 last season, the 49ers have focused on retaining their own free agents while watching the splashy, pricey free agents go elsewhere. The approach has been a hot topic given San Francisco entered the new league year with upwards of $55 million in salary cap space.

“We haven’t done much. We’re a draft and develop team,” Baalke said, according to ESPN.

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That’s been evident by the team electing to re-sign tight end Garrett Celek, nose tackle Ian Williams, running back Shaun Draughn and kicker Phil Dawson. Additionally, defensive lineman Quinton Dial received a three-year extension earlier this offseason ahead of his scheduled free agency in 2017.

Baalke has brought in two outside free agents in quarterback Thad Lewis and offensive lineman Zane Beadles, who is likely to start at left guard after Alex Boone signed a free agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings. Lewis had experience with Chip Kelly’s offense as the third quarterback last season for the Eagles.

The 49ers have the league’s sixth-youngest roster. We took a position-by-position look at its entirety, checking in on the offense here and the defense here.

While Baalke would never admit it, everything San Francisco has done to this point indicates the club is taking a long-term approach to re-building its roster after last offseason saw the departure of so many key players like Patrick Willis, Justin Smith, Frank Gore, Aldon Smith, Michael Crabtree and others.

And because the 49ers are not close to competing in the NFC West with the Cardinals or Seahawks in 2016, it’s probably best they avoid over spending on free agents and focus on developing players within their own system. It’s the realistic approach that would give San Francisco a better chance to compete for a playoff spot in 2017 and beyond.