Phil Hughes in flux
Interesting quote from Joe Girardi today, via Mark Feinsand (Daily News):
“A lot of our decisions will be based on what we do this winter. We still consider [Hughes] a starter, but his role could depend on what we do this winter.”
The young right-hander Hughes, like Joba Chamberlain, is very much stuck in rotation limbo. It appears as though the Yankees will take a long look at their free agent options, as well as the trade market, before openly committing to any of their young arms with much certainty. I can’t say that I agree with it, since it limits their bargaining power when negotiating with FA starters, but it is good to make sure that every player “earns” a role rather than “inherits” one.
Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
It may also be helping their leverage with a potential reliever however… If the Yankees plan on making Soriano or Lyon or Gonzalez or Valverde or whoever the first signing of the offseason then it would give them more leverage to say they aren’t sure if Hughes will be a starter because people know what he did as a setup man.
If that is the case then once they sign the reliever of their choice that is when they start committing to Hughes and Joba as starters and then they in turn get the leverage back with the free agent starters in the league.
Since I believe Ben Sheets to be the Yankees targeted starting pitcher and I believe Sheets will wait to sign a contract it could make sense… Get a reliever and then get a starter after you have set the bullpen in stone.
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