Hughes fine after live batting practice, will throw simulated game on Monday

March 14, 2013 by Mike Axisa 13 Comments

Phil Hughes faced hitters this morning for the first time since dealing with a bulging disk in his upper back earlier in camp. He threw 26 pitches and everything went fine, so he’s now expected to throw a simulated game on Monday. I suppose Hughes could make his Grapefruit League debut after that, but it seems unlikely he’ll be ready in time for the start of the season. No reason to rush it and risk a setback.

trr

+1
Havok9120

This is clearly a sign that something is about to go wrong.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  Cashman failed.
  
  Also, Jose Ramirez is clearly a bust.
gageagainstthemachine

Hughes is lucky he’s out of options…otherwise he could be looking at extended minor league time the way Phelps and Nova are throwing right now. I’m actually pretty excited in a way that both Nova and Phelps will be starting in the rotation to begin the season. At least I assume they will with Hughes timetable.
- Dalek Jeter
  
  Honestly, for a few reasons, once Hughes is healthy again, I’d want Nova going down to the minors. 1st off: we’ve seen what Hughes is capable of as a full time starter in 2010 and last season, and before we even think about resigning him/not resigning him I want to see if he’s capable of doing it in consecutive years. 2nd Thing: Nova was terrible last year, like there were times when he started that I would prefer AJ on the mound, because with AJ there was the slimmest hope that he’d find it at be decent for 4 or so innings. In most starts last season, when Nova was terrible there was no hope for that. 3rd, Phelps has really impressed both last season where ever he pitched, and has looked great this ST. With that last bit said, it is only Spring Training for both Nova and Phelps, so let’s take everything they’re doing w/ a grain of salt.
  - KeithK
    
    I bet that the way Nova and Phelps have performed so far this spring has entered into thinking regarding Hughes. The team can maybe afford to go extra slow with him considering that his replacement(s) seem capable. but I agree that I’d send one of the other guys down before Hughes even if he did have options remaining.
  - jjyank
    
    I’m not so sure it should be Nova instead of Phelps, but I definitely agree that a healthy Hughes needs to be in the rotation ahead of both of those guys.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  If Hughes were having issues throwing effectively right now, I imagine he’d be DL’ed and given rehab starts, which wouldn’t cost him an option.
  
  I don’t think either Phelps or Nova would stand in the way of his rotation spot at this moment.
- gageagainstthemachine
  
  It was mainly just a post about the optimism in Phelps and Nova at the moment, than an actual endorsement to keep Hughes out of the rotation. With that said, it will be interesting to see who they do kick out of the rotation if they are both killing when Hughes is ready. I would guess it had to Phelps to bullpen and no one goes to the minors. Again, original post was more of an endorsement of the job Nova and Phelps have done thus far.
Dalek Jeter

Wait…good news? What’s the catch?
- jjyank
  
  Funny you should ask.
  
  You now have to eat a bag of dicks.
bozo

Wow ramirez sucked today what the fuck was that
Bernie51

He pitched like a bag of dicks.