Chien-Ming Wang Placed on DL

According to Peter Abraham of the Journal News, Yankees starter Chien-Ming Wang has a hip injury that has landed him on the 15-day disabled list and could cause him to miss about a month before he makes it back to the Bronx.

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Wang was placed on the 15-day disabled list and could be out as long as a month with what the Yankees are claiming is a hip injury.

Wang threw 91 pitches in an extended-spring-training game on Thursday in Florida. Dr. Mark Lindsay, a Toronto-based specialist, examined Wang that day.

According to general manager Brian Cashman, Wang was found to have weak adductor muscles in his hips, a condition related to the right-hander tearing a ligament and tendon in his foot last June and missing the remainder of the season.

“This is an issue and we’re going to deal with it, Cashman said.

Wang will need two weeks of physical therapy. He will continue throwing during that time. Wang is 0-3 with a 34.50 ERA. He has insisted he is not injured, but the Yankees were hesitant to have the right-hander start again.

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It isn’t certain if Wang is really injured or the Yankees are just putting him on the DL to give him time to get himself straight.

So far this season, Wang’s velocity has been down and his pitches have been up. It is very possible this injury is real. Wang suffered a foot injury last season that caused him to miss more than half the season. It is common for pitchers returning from injuries to slightly adjust their mechanics which can cause other unrelated injuries.

Relief pitcher David Robertson was called up in his place, but it will likely be Phil Hughes who gets called up the next time Wang’s spot in the rotation comes around.

This could be a blessing in disguise for the Yankees who will have another chance to see if Hughes is ready for the big leagues. If he’s ready, the Yankees will have an interesting decision to make once Wang returns from the DL. If Hughes isn’t ready they simply send him back down when the time comes.

In three starts in triple-A this season, Hughes has a 3-0 record and a 1.86 ERA in 19.1 innings. So it stands to reason that he should be given a shot to prove himself.