Red Sox president Larry Lucchino told WEEI.com Monday he is "pretty darn confident" that Jackie Bradley and Xander Bogaerts can be productive starters for the team in 2014.
"I think that Xander still has some refining of his game," said Lucchino. "He just turned 21 in the postseason. Jackie Bradley, taking you back a few months as to the views of him by experienced baseball people, he's going to have a long and productive career. I feel very confident about them, as confident as you can be with someone at that age and stage."
Bogaerts hit .250/.320/.364 in 44 at-bats last season, but saw his role grow in the postseason, when he picked up 23 plate appearances in six World Series games. Bradley earned a starting spot out of spring training, but hit just .189/.280/.337 in 95 at-bats, and did not factor in the playoffs.
The team has free agents at shortstop and center field, so they may need their young players to step up without a fallback option in 2014.