Usually by this point in the winter the Red Sox have already gotten most of their shopping done, and the majority of the big free agents will have found new teams. So far this offseason that hasn’t happened, and many Red Sox fans are growing restless waiting for the club to make a move.

Yet while it looks on the surface like the Red Sox haven’t done anything, manager Alex Cora insists a lot has been going on behind the scenes.

Speaking to WEEI’s Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn’t Boring Podcast, Cora addressed the slow pace of the offseason and provided his perspective on why things have played out the way they have.

“We’re working. (Craig Breslow) is working, the group is working, it just hasn’t happened, yet,” Cora said. “But it hasn’t happened (business-wide). These two guys have dominated the game, Ohtani dominated the whole Winter Meetings, Yamamoto is doing the same thing right now, and in this case I believe it’s taking longer because the guy is really intrigued with the possible teams he might play.”

After Shohei Ohtani signed a record-breaking 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto became the most highly coveted free agent on the market. The 25-year-old is expected to command a deal approaching $300 million, and Cora said Yamamoto has been rightfully diligent about deciding which team he’d like to play for in MLB.

“He’s doing his homework and he’s doing everything possible to get to know organizations and I believe he’s doing what he’s supposed to,” Cora said. “It’s a big deal, this is not a one-year deal or a two-year deal with an opt out after next year, no no no, this is game-changing, not only for him or his agency but for the organization that ends up with him. He’s taking his time and because he’s taking his time the other guys have to be patient.”

Cora went on to note that while some organizations like the St. Louis Cardinals have moved aggressively to sign their guys, others have waited for the market to start moving. Presumably that includes the Red Sox, who have only made one small free agent signing so far but are reportedly making a strong push to land Yamamoto.

Though Cora declined to confirm whether or not Yamamoto has visited Fenway Park — he reportedly visited with the Yankees and Mets over the weekend — he shed light on how the Red Sox have recruited him and other free agents so far.

“We’ve talked to a lot of people, the process is a little bit different than in the past with our calls, and I think we’ve done an outstanding job presenting our program, presenting what we’re all about,” Cora said. “We’ve been very honest about the last two years, this is something we don’t like, it’s not acceptable and we’re in the process of trying to get better.”

With Yamamoto specifically, he noted that the young Japanese star doesn’t only have former Orix Buffaloes teammate Masataka Yoshida to talk to about the Red Sox, but many of his current teammates in Japan.

“We have guys who played with him this year who had the experience of playing in New York, experience playing in Boston, experience playing in Houston, he played with people that are ex-MLB players and they have the insight of a lot of stuff,” Cora said, adding that something like visiting a ballpark isn’t the be all and end all. “The novelty, that’s in the past. They really want to know what the organization is all about. That’s what they want to know.”

While much of the discourse surrounding the Red Sox lately has been about the organization’s desire to build towards the future, Cora correctly noted that free agents aren’t as interested in how good a club will be down the line. They want to know how good the team could be this year, and that has been front and center in their recruiting efforts this winter.

“They’re not starting to play with the Red Sox in three or four years, they’re starting right now, it’s 2024,” Cora said. “So far it’s been a great process, very busy to be honest with you, but I don’t mind that.”