I know this is a touchy subject but I thought about it earlier and
it is something that the Yankees might have to really consider and
truly answer. Better yet what will they do if the unthinkable happens
and Huhges gets hurt? Of course this is all speculative and it can only
come true if the Yankees, in fact, do something with Wang that results
in him coming out of the starting rotation…more than likely this will
happen, especially if he continues to pitch the way he has…but in that
case what will happen to Wang then? This is my thought process:

Let me start off by saying that the Yankees, their fans, scouts,
everyone is high on Hughes, he is the future of the Yankees and will be
in the rotation for years to come. There is no reason to think that his
current stint in the bullpen is long term, it is just a fix and a
reason to keep him out of the minors, where he can’t grow or learn any
more, he’s too dominate down there and is just a waste of his and the
Yankees time. So finishing up this thought is that the Yankees will be
back in the rotation and probably this year…but what if…

Hughes Fails: What do the Yankees do then? Side
Track: I don’t usually use numbers in my Blogs but to be honest I am a
numbers ***** so this post will be full of them…enjoy!!..Although he
has been pitching very well as of late, including his last 4 starts and
2 relief appearances, we saw his ERA go from a robust 7.56 to a
manageable and acceptable 5.26 while striking out 29 in his last 27.2
innings, he does have the ability to get hit around and give up runs.
Let’s not forget the debacle in Baltimore where he gave up 8 earned in
1.2 innings (that was also his last loss), I know I am being picky but
I have to give examples from both sides. Assuming, again, that Wang
isn’t gunna be what we need him to be, we can’t run him out there every
5 days to get smacked around, Hughes will be in the rotation again and
can hopefully work on recent success. But what if he runs into trouble?
We saw it earlier this year, he would lose command and give up hits and
runs, he does look more confident now but teams can score on him early
on in games and he would have to be taken out…remember last year too?
Side Track: Injuries are generally to blame for last years performance,
and I believe it too…so we can kinda let him slide a little on that
one…But there is a possibility that he will fail…he doesn’t have the
cleanest track record in the Majors…although all points do point to
success what will the front office do if he fails or even worse than
that, gets hurt…

First: What to do with Hughes?

My inclination is to put Hughes back into the pen if this would
happen. I think he is great out of the bullpen and a huge asset for
their success…like I have said in the past he bridges the gap from the
8th to 9th and can be used in long relief if necessary too…He has too
much potential to be used as a long reliever though and I would rather
see him in an important role like being a set-up man for Mo. People
might want Hughes to be in the Minors but that doesn’t do anything for
him…he dominates AAA and he can’t learn anymore from being there…he
would have to stay in the pen and face major league hitters and in
pressure situations you usually end up pitching to the cream of the
crop.

Second: Who Takes that Place in the Rotation?

WANG: With Wang presumably in the minors or on the
15-day DL at this point and getting starts in AAA he might be the first
option for filling that role. Getting Wang the necessary starts that he
was pulled out of a few weeks ago may be the key to his success. Wang
was pitching to his big league potential in the minors which makes me
feel that it is more mechanics and nerves at this point. Check out his
stats here.
To break them down quickly Wang pitched 13 innings gave up no earned
runs, struck out 7, and threw a complete game shut out. If he can
replicate these numbers, if he is sent back down, over 5 or 6 starts he
may find himself back in the rotation.

IGAWA: Now I know it’s gunna be hard for anyone to
swallow this one but if something was to happen to Hughes, such as an
injury that sidelines him for any period of time this might be the
person they call up. Igawa has been a HUGE and i mean HUGE bust for the
Yankees, after the Red Sox signed Dice-K the Yanks felt compelled to
sign a Japanese born player, and it blew up in their faces. But hear me
out, Kei, although not having a great season by any stretch (see stats here)
he is one of only a few starting pitchers in the Minors that has major
league experience. There are some more young guns down there, but they
are probably too young and immature (in a Major League sense) to get
called up. There is one other veteran down there, Casey Fossum, but he
has had limited success in the Majors and that was while being in the
bullpen as a reliever. The truth of the matter is that Igawa has had
some success in the Majors and might be the best choice if Wang isn’t
available, at least until they can find a long term solution. He would
probably be more likely to come up in the event that Hughes gets hurt
and they need someone in the rotation right away.

Trades: The Yankees are no strangers to making
trades before the deadline and spending money to keep their team
winning and in the playoff hunt. If all these situations fail or they
decide that Igawa or other youngsters in the Minors can’t cut it you
might see the Yankees hitting up small market/falling teams that can
use money and prospects. Unfortunately this wouldn’t happen to later in
the year but as of right now here is who they can go after, in my
opinion.

First off you can forget every team in the AL East so here we go…

AL Central:

Kansas City: Now most people are going to think I’m
gunna say Greinke, nope, no way! The Yankees will not give up the
prospects or money for what the Royals will want for him. I can see the
Yankees going for the once Mets prospect Brian Bannister…he has put up
decent numbers this year and is a good 5th starter for the Yankees and
it will cost them a little bit but I don’t see it being someone like
Kennedy or Jackson. Keep an eye out…see his stats here

Cleveland: Too young, and no one really going after…we’re not gunna go after Pavano again are we?

AL WEST:

Seattle: The one guy on this team that is always mentioned in trades is Jarrod Washburn.
The Yankees have pursued him in the past so I think they could look his
way if need be. The thing going against the Yankees is that he is
having a great season (click on his name to see stats) and Seattle is
giving him a ton of money, that more than likely the Yankees would have
to swallow. If the Yankees take the load of his money they might get
away with just throwing some secondary AA players at Seattle.

Oakland: Too young to deal with, no track record and no need to go after youngsters down the stretch.

NL East:

Washington: The only team in the East I think the
Yankees will deal with. They have youth in their rotation but all of
their numbers are inflated, because of the bandbox they play in, but
there is some talent in that pool. More than likely the Yankees
wouldn’t deal with them because of youth but if the Yankees were
willing to deal Swisher they can take a shot at Lannan as long as
prospects are going with him…Not likely to happen at all but that’s the
only deal I see happening there.

NL Central:

Pittsburgh: This might be a stretch, but the
Pirates have to be kicking themselves that they are using a huge chunk
of salary on a pitcher that isn’t pitching to his potential. Ian Snell
is a guy who has a whole lot of potential and isn’t doing much with it
this year, he isn’t making much money is Pittsburgh which might make
him more attractive to other ball clubs and lets the Pirates go after
position players to build their offense back up. Let’s face it the
Pirates aren’t going anywhere this year so I can see them shopping
Snell for some AAA batters to get their offense back to it’s glory
years.

NL West:

Arizona: The only person I can see the Yankees going after from the NL West is Doug Davis.
The main problem is that Davis is a lefty and do they really want 3 in
their starting rotation? The Diamond Backs also always find a way to
squirm back into the race in the NL West due to the fact that it’s a
horrible division. I don’t see this happening at all but it’s worth
mentioning, it will cost the Yankees a lot due to the fact that Davis
is having a pretty good year and he is getting paid a good amount.

I really don’t see the Yankees shopping anyone but you never really
know. Out of all these players I can see the Yankees really going for
Washburn (I know a lefty too) but he always comes up and it won’t cost
them as much as some of these other players will.

Of course all these situations are merely based on speculation and
may never come to fruition and hopefully never will. I like Hughes A
LOT!!! so I hope I’m not coming off as someone who doesn’t want Hughes
on the team. But these things do happen so I wouldn’t be surprised to
hear these things talked about soon if things don’t work out right.