The Yankees have yet to make an official announcement, but according to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, in the next couple of days they will announce that the winner of the position will be Phil Hughes.
There are still meetings this week, still final statements that could be offered, still an injury that can change minds and needs. But this was a competition in the faintest of ways. As I reported in early February, the Yankees brass was going to enter spring privately viewing Hughes as the clear fifth starter frontrunner.
The reality is that no one else could win the job. Hughes could only lose it. And strangely, he sealed the win Monday when, of all things, he lost by surrendering three homers, including a walk-off shot by Philadelphia’s Wilson Valdez.
Thoughts: While it worries me that the Yankees may have given up on Joba Chamberlain too early, it is hard to be upset when a player of Hughes’ talent is inserted into the rotation. As long as Joba is given another chance to return to the rotation in the event of an injury or even next season, then this can’t be looked at as bad news.
In a way, even if you’re like me and wanted Joba in the rotation, this is a good thing. Joba was stretched out pretty far last season compared to previous years and with that comes injury risk. By putting him in the bullpen this season and limiting his innings you minimize that risk and if he is in the rotation in the future he should still be capable of going 150 innings or more.
Meanwhile, by putting Hughes in the rotation now you avoid the risk of stunting his development. He was simply electric last season coming out of the bullpen and his confidence on the mound is visibly better. The problem is that out of the bullpen he really only threw a fastball and a curve. He only occasionally threw his cutter and rarely if ever threw his changeup. He’s put a lot of work into the changeup especially this spring, but another year in the bullpen could have cost him the pitch altogether.
Hughes took big leaps as a major leaguer last season, this opportunity is putting him in position to take even bigger steps in the future.
The bottom line is that no matter who you were pulling for, Joba, Hughes, or other, this Yankee rotation is flat out nasty. One through five it is probably the strongest it’s been in the past 10 years.
What do you think? Have the Yankees made the right decision here? Or is this a signal that they’ve given up on Joba?
This is not bad news at all, Hughes has in the past dominated some pretty potent lineups, Texas comes to mind. If he has a full arsenal of pitches which he is confident I truly think that we have a solid #3 and a Nasty Rotation. Just as important with Chamberlin added to the bullpen they have a Nasty bullpen as well and will be very tough from top to bottom. If the Offense works out at least equal to last year this team will be estremely tough.
The same could be said about Joba though. He's dominated lineups, K'd 12 Red Sox in 5.2 innings and was hot when they pulled him out of the game. I'd say his arsenal of pitches is even deeper with better confidence in his secondary pitches. He'll probably be a solid #3. And Hughes would have been an important part of a nasty bullpen.
He’s put a lot of work into the changeup especially this spring, but another year in the bullpen could have cost him the pitch altogether.
This statement is so true… that's why, IMO, if Joba was/is named the starter then Hughes has to go to AAA to keep honing his skills as a starter… this, of course, will never happen. But he is just 23 and with a good change-up he can be an elite starter in MLB.
I always wanted to see Hughes get a crack. Sure wish I had tried your paragraphs 2&3, Rob, but the audience wasn't there.
Joba needed to build a better approach, and I hope they use him for longer stints, with nobody on base, so he can use all his pitches. He could do that , you know, from the bullpen. Bring him into pressure situations sometimes, if that's working, use him for the 8th in big series. But he should be able to work on pitches against major leaguers.
I'm excited for Phil, and Joba, too.