The Red Sox went 81-81 last season and Manager Alex Cora is confident Boston is ready to take the next step. Nick Wass/Associated Press

CHESTNUT HILL — A jetlagged Alex Cora was back in Boston on Saturday for an event on the campus of Boston College, and while he wouldn’t talk about details of his recent trip to southern California to meet with star free agent Juan Soto and his representatives, he did little to temper expectations about what’s expected to be an active offseason for the club.

Appearing at a leadership conference run by BC’s Latin American Business Club (of which his daughter, Camila is a member), Cora acknowledged Soto only while answering a question from a student about players expressing themselves – “People seem to love Juan Soto and his shuffle,” Cora said, smirking, in a tacit acknowledgement of Boston’s interest – but added, in a conversation after the event, that he’s no stranger to offseason travel.

“I can’t say I went or not,” Cora said, laughing. “Obviously, there’s a process in place. We’re trying to gather as much information as possible. This started at the GM Meetings. I’ve been traveling a lot the last six years since I got this job, but it’s part of the process.”

After multiple underwhelming offseasons, the Red Sox have raised expectations this winter by appearing to play at the high end of both the free agent and trade markets. Coming off an 81-81 season in which multiple players took big steps forward, Boston has emerged as a suitor for Soto (but is not considered the favorite with the Yankees and Mets expected to make big bids) while being linked to other top free agents like Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell and Max Fried and linked to trade candidates like Garrett Crochet. Asked if fans should have their hopes up for a big offseason, Cora did little to quash the notion.

“I think the talk (internally) has been more about the big league club instead of player development, and that’s a positive for the fan base,” Cora said. “We have a plan in place. We know there’s certain aspects of the roster that we have to improve. I think we’re going to be very aggressive on that.

“We talked about if after the season on the stage (at the end-of-year news conference), where we’re at right now as an organization,” he said. “We’re in a good place… We made some strides. That’s the bottom line. There were some individual players, if you go by pieces of the puzzle, there were some good stories. Guys got better. Guys can still get better. And there’s a plan in place.”

“I truly believe what we talked about – I can’t talk for Scott (Boras) and what the industry’s saying – but what we said the last time we were together at Fenway. We were very honest and I think we’re going to execute.”

Both the free agent and trade markets have yet to move in the two-plus weeks since the conclusion of the World Series. Cora expects things to pick up after Tuesday, which is the deadline for players to either accept or decline qualifying offers. The Red Sox are awaiting a decision from starter Nick Pivetta; Cora declined comment when asked.

“Obviously, we have be patient,” Cora said about free agency. “I think everything starts, business-wise and industry-wise, from Tuesday on. See who is who and who’s going to be with who, and then go from there.”

The Red Sox did make one addition earlier this week, signing lefty reliever Justin Wilson to a one-year, $2.25 million contract. Cora noted that Boston has had interest in the 37-year-old southpaw for some time and that he’s excited to add him to the bullpen mix.

“He kind of struggled at the end, but early in the season, his stuff was really good,” Cora said. “Obviously, we’ll make some adjustments here and there.

“Veteran,” Cora said. “He has been doing it for a while. It’s a guy who, throughout the years, his name always pops up because of the stuff. The more the better. That’s the way I see it.”