Most likely Hughes will be used as a long man but this may be a waste of all the exceptional "potential" that has been attached to the 23-year-old Yankee his entire career. What has been suggested for Joba Chamberlain may be just the answer for Phil Hughes. Given his electric fastball, and biting power-curve, Hughes may be the perfect figure to slide into the setup role and solidify the Yankees' bullpen.
Hughes features eight K/9 innings this season, a vital statistic for a reliever who may enter the game with runners on base. Using the same philosophy that once created a shut-down combination of Joba to Rivera and that first constructed the dominating duo of Rivera to Wetteland in the 1996 championship season, the Yankees could once again suffocate their opponents by shortening 2-3 innings off every game.
With injuries to Damaso Marte and Brian Bruney, the Yankees would be well served to give Hughes a chance in the setup role instead of relegating him to typically inconsequential situations as a glorified mop-up man or sending him back down to the minors. While the young arms in the Yankees bullpen have performed well, a pitcher with Hughes' skill and experience would instantly improve the weakest facet. Hughes — already stretched out as a starter, prepared to pitch 100+ innings — could conceivably be used as a "new" hybrid long/short reliever, available in all situations when necessary, serving as a rare bullpen piece unburdened by serious innings limitations.
Playing half of their games in, what appears to be, one of the biggest launching pads in baseball, pitching will be absolutely crucial for the Yankees down the stretch. If Chien-Ming Wang can return to his pre-injury form, his ground ball-inducing sinkers should be tailored perfectly for success in his new home. And while Phil Hughes has consistently been hampered by injuries, when healthy consistency as a starter has been the attribute — for three seasons now — that has eluded him.
Some day Hughes could become a solid starter. But given his abilities, and given the opportunity, he could easily become a dominant and unusually useful reliever. In the short term, he is a quality arm that can handle a volume of innings often, shortening ball games on the way to Mariano. In the long term, he could be a home-grown answer to the question of succession to the role now held by the aging Yankee legend, maybe even bringing back the usage patters of Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers, when closers often pitched multiple innings.
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