As the Red Sox have scaled back spending in recent years, speculation around the fanbase has bubbled that Fenway Sports Group may not be as invested in the club as they once were and could be looking to sell the team.

Asked if that was the case Friday, Red Sox chairman Tom Werner unequivocally shot down the idea.

“No,” Werner said. “People ask us that and the cornerstone of Fenway Sports Group is the Boston Red Sox, and hopefully we’ll be stewards of this a couple more decades, at least.”

Since purchasing the Red Sox in 2002, Fenway Sports Group has helped bring four World Series championships to Boston, but over the past decade the club has experienced an extended stretch of peaks and valleys. The Red Sox have endured six last place finishes since 2012, including three in the last four years, and the most recent stretch has coincided with an extended rebuild during which the club has relentlessly focused on building for the future, sometimes to the detriment of the present.

This year the club initially suggested things could be different, with Werner infamously declaring the club would take a “full throttle” approach to the offseason. But to this point the Red Sox have only made one notable free agent addition, and an argument could be made the big league roster is weaker now than it was when last season ended.

This week ahead of Winter Weekend the club’s top decision makers began sounding a different tune, indicating the club’s payroll will likely be lower than last year’s and that they probably won’t make any big outside additions.

And as for Werner’s “full throttle” promise?

“A lot has been made out of two words,” Werner said. “For me full throttle is I approach every year expecting for us to be competitive and using all the levers at Craig’s disposal, and that could be acquiring talent through trades, free agency, building a core, having a stronger pitching staff, having a stronger coaching staff. We weren’t good enough defensively last year.

“When I said full throttle I admitted it probably wasn’t the most artful words, but that also applies to my own life,” Werner continued. “We are accountable to our fans, we’re not happy, as Sam (Kennedy) said, with our performance last year, and we expect to be better than last year.”

Werner said he’s excited about the club’s emerging young core, highlighting Triston Casas, new second baseman Vaughn Grissom, outfielder Jarren Duran and rookie right fielder Wilyer Abreu as players he believes are primed to take a step forward. He also said he believes the club will perform much better defensively, and over the long haul the club’s newly overhauled pitching development program and emerging crop of young prospects could pay dividends.

And when the Red Sox do re-emerge as contenders, Werner indicated Fenway Sports Group fully intends to be around to enjoy the payoff.