Wednesday: Hughes was sent to a local spine specialist and was diagnosed with a bulging disc in his mid-upper back according to George King and Joel Sherman. He will be shut down for at least five days and put on anti-inflammatory medication. Brian Cashman conservatively called it a “two-week timeout.”
Tuesday: Via Jack Curry & Mark Feinsand: Phil Hughes will miss a few days with upper back stiffness near his shoulder. “There’s always a little bit of concern,” said Joe Girardi while noting that his number four starter hurt himself during a fielding drill yesterday. He saw a doctor but it’s unclear if they ran any tests.
Hughes, 26, left Game Three of the ALCS with a stiff back but was cleared to resume throwing a few days later. He also missed a start with a sore back in September 2011 and dealt with a bulging disc back in 2004. I suppose the back trouble could all be related, but who the hell knows. Better to rest it now in February than worry about a DL trip during the summer. Hughes is no stranger to the trainer’s room and given his impending free agent status, it would behoove him to stay on the field this year.