You can’t keep everyone.

We were reminded that as Major League Baseball’s winter meetings wrapped up in Las Vegas on Thursday. Boston Red Sox fans awoke to the news that Joe Kelly was headed to the Dodgers – the team he helped defeat in the World Series – for 2019.

It wasn’t a huge shock. Kelly is a West Coast guy, and Los Angeles offered him a three-year, $25 million contract. The Red Sox, approaching the third threshold of the competitive bargaining tax, weren’t able or willing to go that high.

Was Kelly worth it? He certainly was in the playoffs. He appeared in every World Series game and threw six scoreless innings. He was part of a lockdown bullpen that surprised us all with dominating performances against the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers.

Yet there were three months in which he posted an ERA over 8.00. It was an inconsistent season for Kelly in the Boston bullpen. He thrust himself into the middle of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry when he drilled Tyler Austin in April. Soon he was the toast of the town and was getting a standing ovation at TD Garden before a Bruins game.

Dave Dombrowski knows he can’t sign players based on popularity. After committing four years to Nathan Eovaldi, Dombrowski will try to be frugal in his attempts to add the finishing touches to the bullpen. It’s also why the Sox are not seen as front-runners to sign closer Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel is a Hall of Fame-caliber closer, but was an adventure throughout October for Boston.

And he reportedly wants more than $100 million in his next deal.

If he gets it, or anything close, it won’t come from the Red Sox. Dombrowski and Manager Alex Cora like their team, and they probably know they need at least one more reliever to keep this team at the top of the American League.

And there is something to be said for mixing things up a bit as a team looks to repeat. A new look can be a good thing. Cora addressed that when he announced that Mookie Betts will no longer be the leadoff hitter in 2019. That role will go to Andrew Benintendi, who will flip with Betts in the lineup’s top two spots.

“It’s a new season,” said Cora in Vegas, “and we have to turn the page. I think that’s a good way to do it.”

Flipping two hitters isn’t exactly rebooting the franchise, but it is a reminder that teams need to constantly reinvent themselves if they are going to stay ahead of the competition. That’s going to be tougher over the next 12 months.

If the Sox want to turn a championship into a longer run of success they need to navigate some contracts that are nearing expiration. It begins at the end of 2019 when Xander Bogaerts, Chris Sale and Rick Porcello all can reach free agency. J.D. Martinez can also opt out of his contract at that point.

Those are potentially significant losses for the Sox, which is why it should have come as no surprise that rumors surfaced at the meetings that Boston was willing to listen to offers for some of its higher priced players. Dombrowski knows he could be losing key players and getting nothing in return. It would only make sense to try to get something for them now.

That would also free up current payroll in order to go after free-agent relief help for the coming season. With Kelly gone, and Kimbrel potentially leaving, the Sox could use that help. Which would also give them a slightly new look as the they look to repeat in 2019.

Tom Caron is a studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on NESN. His column appears in the Portland Press Herald on Tuesdays.

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