Josh Reddick would be the Red Sox right fielder if the season started tomorrow. (AP)

DALLAS — The Red Sox have been connected to the few solid starting outfield options that are on the market. Early in the offseason, reports connected the team to free agents such as Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Beltran. Additionally, team executives recently went on a scouting mission to the Dominican Republic that included the opportunity to meet with highly regarded Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes.

That said, while the Sox have been inquiring on such players, the team also is in a position — based on the realities of its payroll — where it needs to fill more needs with young, inexpensive players in order to maintain the financial flexibility for other needs. And so, while the Sox hypothetically might have some room to maneuver in the market if DH David Ortiz declines the Sox’ offer of salary arbitration and signs with another team (a scenario that appears unlikely), the team seems unlikely to invest heavily in right field.

That fact reflects not just on the payroll, but also on the team’s comfort level with its current outfielders. The team has Josh Reddick, who dazzled at times but ultimately faded down the stretch in his first extended stretch in the majors in 2011. He hit .280 with a .327 OBP, .457 slugging mark and .784 OPS, seven homers and 28 extra-base hits in 87 games.

Reddick’s numbers did take a hit down the stretch, as he hit just .208 with a .258 OBP, .333 slugging mark and .591 OPS in 43 games from Aug. 6 through the end of the season. His struggles were compounded when he was hit by a pitch against the Rangers in early September, an injury that required surgery in the offseason to repair a ligament. With his struggles, he lost playing time, as Reddick — who turns 25 in February — ceded playing time during most of the final week to J.D. Drew in right field.

Still, based on what transpired in 2011, Sox GM Ben Cherington suggested that the Sox could envision Reddick being an everyday right fielder when the curtain rises on the 2012 season.

Meanwhile, the team also has Ryan Kalish as an option in the organization. Kalish missed most of 2011 when he suffered a partial labrum tear with Triple-A Pawtucket and later suffered a bulging disc in his lower neck that required surgery. Still, though he was limited to just 24 minor league games and will likely have to open next year in Triple-A, the Sox continue to regard Kalish as a future everyday outfielder, perhaps even — after likely starting the year in the minors — in 2012.

“A lot of comfort level,” Cherington said of his feelings about featuring Reddick and/or Kalish as a regular right fielder next year. “Certainly, Reddick, he did it this year, and he took another step in his career, and we think he’s going to be a very good major-league outfielder. Right now, if Opening Day was tomorrow, he’s probably in right field. We’ll see what happens the rest of the winter. Kalish has a little bit more to overcome, physically, and we think he’s going to be a really good big-league player, too.”

Kalish — who hit .252 with a .305 OBP, .405 slugging mark, .710 OPS, four homers and 10 steals in 53 big league games in 2010 — is still rehabbing from his neck surgery, which took place in September. He is expected to be able to hit by the start of spring training, but may be brought along slowly, perhaps serving as a DH at the start of games. All of that helps to explain why Kalish is likely to open the year in the minors, but despite that, with Reddick expected to be fully healthy by spring training, the Sox feel that they are operating in a position of comfort in right field.

And the Sox likely do need to be comfortable with the talents of their internal solutions to the position. After all, when the team invested $300 million in the tandem of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez last offseason, it was with the expectation that the team would have graduates of its farm system ready to play for a relatively pittance. That, in turn, gave the Sox the payroll flexibility to make its big splashes.

At the time, Kalish was viewed as likely ready to assume everyday responsibilities in right field by 2012. Injuries prevented that from occurring. Instead, it is Reddick who, at least in stretches, demonstrated that he could be that guy for the Sox next year. In terms of building an organization, Reddick and Kalish represent the types of players on whom teams must eventually rely if they are to build a sustainable core of players.

“We have to do that. We can’t do it with too big a chunk of the roster at any one time in Boston, I don’t think, but we’ve got to do that. We’ve got to trust young players,” said Cherington. “That’s the way we’ve been good in the past, is to trust young players and integrate them on the team. They’ve got to be ready for it, and, to a certain extent, they’ve got to prove that they’re ready for it. There’ll be young players on the team next year. A lot of it is a matter of how much responsibility are they ready for. Sometimes they’re ready for more responsibility the longer they’re in the big leagues.”

Reddick has had his first taste of an everyday role in 2011. For his part, he is convinced that he is ready for more.

“I think I’ve shown them that I can be an everyday guy here. There’s always something else that needs to happen for all the right cards to fall into place, because we’ve seen [the Sox] go out and get guys whenever they think they need to. … There’s nothing set in stone here, so just got to keep working,” said Reddick. “I think that I’ve proven to these guys and myself that I can compete at this level finally. The numbers show it a little bit.”