"We're very much on top of things and know some of the things we want to do," general manager J.P. Ricciardi said Thursday from his home in Worcester, Mass. "But I think this year we need to have more balls in the air, because last year's crop was a little bit more definitive for us.

"I'm not going to tip our hand, in the sense that there's just too many things going on. It would be hard for me to say this is a priority," Ricciardi said.

"We think it's important that they go test the market," Ricciardi said. "They all have interest in staying here, and if that's the case, what we would do is try to see if we could match some of the stuff they think is out there for them."