With Chien-Ming Wang back on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder, Yankees manager Joe Girardi once again faces the task of solidifying an incomplete starting rotation. A constant problem all season, the Yankees had hoped the return of Wang from his first DL stint would provide them with what could have potentially been the best fifth starter in baseball. Instead, Wang was brutal, posting a 5.28 ERA and surrendering 19 runs on 37 hits in only 30.2 innings. Then the injury came, and the starter's struggles became a moot point.
To replace his fifth starter Girardi has a wide variety of uncertain options. The obvious route for Joe would be to simply re-insert former starter Phil Hughes back into the rotation. Hughes began the season as a starter before he was replaced upon Wang's return. Further supporting this line of logic, Hughes has been dominate recently, posting a 1.32 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP in 13.2 innings since moving to the bullpen. With few other options it seems like this would be a no-brainer by Girardi... until you look at Hughes' stats as a starter.
In 34.2 innings starting this season Hughes was essentially not much better than Wang. While he did notch a positive 3-2 record, his 5.45 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, and 37 hits surrendered speak more to the quality of his pitching than the reflection of his record. Joe Girardi has publicly stated that he will not move Hughes back into the rotation and this seems to be the correct decision.
Phil has been completely ineffective as a starter and yet very effective as a reliever. It would also take Hughes, at the very least, two or three truncated starts to get "stretched out." The move makes less and less sense the further it is analyzed. In Hughes, Girardi has a potentially lights-out setup man and a potentially very average starter. While the Yankees do badly need a fifth man in their rotation, Hughes' likely production in that role is not worth destabilizing a bullpen that — especially with the poor health and effectiveness of Brian Bruney — is already stretched thin.
So if the answer to Girardi's current quandary doesn't reside with Phil Hughes in the bullpen the other source of arms would seem to be the Yankees AAA affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. There are some familiar names on this roster. Leading the rotation with 85.1 innings pitched is the Yankees' failed answer to Dice-K, "No-K" Kei Igawa. In his short time at the major league level, the Japanese import made Yankees fans wonder who the hell ever thought this guy could pitch.
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