Just a hunch but I can see how Phill Hughes could be put out there as tantalizing trade bait

[CaliCuse]

Someone looking to dump a probabe FA at the end of this year might bite on the hook. Phil doesn't look like he will ever be the pitcher the Yanks thought both he and Joba were going to be when they broke in to the big time. I think the consensus of the way Joba was handled is correct but Hughes IMO opinion is that no one appeared to be urging Hughes to develop a hard slider to go with his curve and marginal fastball that he throws now. Maybe he survives the season but I wouldn't bet a dime on that. In fact I'm betting that by the deadline trade date he is gone. No I'm not betting anyone . I already lost a bottle of grey Goose to a good guy her. Thats it for now. Of course that was regarding football.

 

[EastCoast2]

The way the Yankees management handled Phil's and Joba's development was despicable. Who has the final say on starter vs. reliever? The dumb thing is that the people with power in the Yankees organization have never played baseball in their lives.

Their thought process was: "Wow, Joba can throw 98-100 mph for 1-2 innings. This must mean he can throw 98-100 mph for 8 innings."

Wrong. If you asked me to close one inning I could give you 90 mph. Ask me to start and I'm throwing 83-85.

There are very few pitchers, even in the majors, who can throw 100 mph with the slider that Joba had. When you have that, it's a weapon to close out the 8th inning and be that bridge to Mo.

They should have realized from the get go that Joba was born to be a 1-2 inning guy, Hughes was born to be a starter.

SMH, if I had been in charge of the Yankees for the past 6 years, Hughes would be a perennial 17-18 game winner and Joba would still be throwing 99 mph ready to take over closer role in 2013.

 

[donniesyracuse]

I wish I could find it now; I remember early in Joba's career, someone wrote an article detailing why Joba's mechanics would lead to major injuries. I suspect his problems might have more to do with a flaw in his motion, than his shuffling between the rotation and bullpen. I'm not excusing the way the Yankees handled him, but I think his lack of velocity comes from the injuries, and I think the injuries are more a result of his mechanics than the Yankees handling of him.

 

[billsin01]

Umm, what is it that is tantalizing about Hughes again? The 9+ ERA? The awful WHIP? The loss in velocity? The propensity to be out of shape? The rumors he doesn't work that hard?

 

[Noexcuse]

I've followed the Yankees forever. You can pretty much count on one hand the number of starting pitchers that developed in the Yankee system. That said, I do not hold out much hope for Betances, Banuelos and even Pinieda.