The New York Yankees might be short on quality position players, but if Ivan Nova continues to pitch the way he did on Sunday, the Yankees might feature a six-man rotation. As Ken Davidoff of the New York Post discusses, Phil Hughes might eventually become the odd man out of the rotation if he can't get things corrected.
Nova was pitching a gem before hitting the last two batters he faced in the seventh inning of Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Nova gave up three earned runs on seven hits and three walks in 6.2 innings pitched. He struck out seven batters as he threw 68 of 103 pitches for strikes.
It was due to his poor pitching early in the year that Nova found himself in the minors, working on his mechanics as the Yankees could no longer remain patient with the 26-year-old right-hander. So far in 2013, Nova is 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA. His performance on Sunday was good news for the Yankees as the time might have the guy who possibly replace a struggling Hughes.
Though Nova's 4.91 ERA isn't impressive at all, at least he was able to go fairly deep in the game and his ERA is not as bad as Hughes'. Through 14 starts in 2013, Hughes is 3-6 with a 5.09 ERA. He's in the Top 20 in home runs (13) surrendered and has been inconsistent all season long.
Hughes has lost consecutive starts and is 1-3 in the month of June. In two of his starts this month, he only went 4.1 innings, losing both games. Hughes as given up five or more runs in 5 of 14 starts, once again proving his inconsistencies.
As the Yankees enter a busy stretch where they will play 20 games in 20 days, arms will be important to have around. If Hughes wants to keep his job as a starter for the Yankees, then improvement will be necessary. Nova will certainly get his turn when the time comes, so the Yankees will be turning to a six-man rotation for at least one round.
The Yankees other option can be trading Hughes as Michael Pineda is also set to make return from injury. Pineda continues to work his way back to the majors after pitching for one year and then going down with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. The injury came after the Yankees traded for the 24-year-old. Pineda has yet to throw the ball for the Yankees.
All in all, Hughes is fighting for his life in the pitching rotation, but he could be trade bait. The Yankees are just 2.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox, who are currently in first place in the A.L. East. The Yanks could use Hughes as bait for a position player as the team's players continue to battle through injuries.