Phil Hughes Might Be Gone for Sometime

According to Brian Hoch of MLB.com, Phil Hughes was among six Yankees who were assigned to the minor league camp today. The others were Anthony Claggett, Steven Jackson, Humberto Sanchez, Sergio Mitre, and Jason Johnson.

This was not a demotion for Hughes. He is just a victim because there are not enough innings to go around this late in camp.

With about two weeks left, manager Joe Girardi needs to make sure the rest of his starters have enough innings that they are ready for the regular season.

“Because his pitch count continues to climb, there’s no innings to provide here,” Cashman said.

“I told him that he had a great camp and to keep working,” Cashman said. “We told him about all the things that we saw and what he needs to continue to work on. He’s in a great frame of mind. He knows he did great here, but he also knows that it’s not in his best interest to now be held back.”

Hughes has been impressive this spring. In four appearances, he threw 12.1 innings with a 2.19 ERA, eight strike outs and a 1.05 WHIP. That WHIP is a little decieving, though, and it would be unlikely he could continue it if the sample size grew.

In 12.1 innings he only allowed five hits, but he walked seven batters. Over 200 innings that works out to 116 walks. Not good.

Hughes came into camp this season trying to prove that he wasn’t a minor leaguer, but ultimately the Yankees signed five veteran starters and they are all healthy so there is just no room for him to get innings right now.

He made some chances since last season as well. The biggest change was to his curveball that he tightened and now comes in at a higher velocity with less break.

He’s also improved a cutter and changed the grip on his changeup, which he now throws more like a forkball.

At this point, Hughes is next in line to replace one of those veterans should an injury occur, but personally I hope this means we forget about him.

No, not forget him entirely, but if we don’t see him until mid-to-late summer that means that everyone is healthy and pitching well and there is no need for replacements. Wouldn’t that be a refreshing change from the past five years?

Other Stories on Bronx Baseball Daily

• Burnett and Montero Lead the Yankees To a Sweep
• Talking Phil Hughes the Morning After
• Jeter and Team USA Beat Yankees 6-5
• Yankee Baseball On Your TV
• Yankees Spring Training Notes: Day 3