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It's pretty obvious that the struggling Phil Hughes will lose his rotation spot when Chien-Ming Wang rejoins the Yankees, leaving Michael Salfino to wonder what's to be done with Hughes (and he tries to figure that out with some help from our own Keith Law) ...

Is it too early to say that Hughes no longer projects as even a No. 2 or No. 3 starter?

Law says it is "too early to give up on Hughes just based on age, history and his irregular experience since the original callup and injury. If the Yankees don't want to give him reps in the Majors to develop, then they're probably better off letting him go to [Triple-A] and dominate there, thus somewhat restoring his trade value."

--snip--

But Law is right. The Yankees can't afford to suffer through Hughes' learning. Chien-Ming Wang must pass an audition tomorrow and convince the brass that his velocity and sink are back to pre-2009 levels. His fastball ranged from 88-to-92 mph in his last rehab start (he averaged 91.8 last year and 92.7 in 2007). Then Hughes has to log a full year in Triple-A, where he only has 77 career innings, a number that seemed shockingly low when I looked it up.

While it's too early to put Hughes in the cutout bin, it's high time to demand that he learn his craft far off-Broadway. It's for his own good, too. A bitter taste of failure can serve to strengthen one's resolve, but a full serving of it serves no useful purpose and most likely gives rise to doubt that most assuredly weakens the will.

You might recall that when the Yankees were winning the American League East every single year, they developed just one starting pitcher: Andy Pettitte. Well, there was a good reason for that. Yes, they were impatient with their young pitchers, but when you're trying to win every single year you almost have to be impatient. How many young starters have the Red Sox come up with during their run of success? One: Jon Lester (and of course in Clay Buchholz, they've got a Phil Hughes of their own).

But just because the Yankees can't afford to suffer through Hughes' learning as a starter, doesn't mean they can't still benefit from his talents. From my SportsNation chat today:

Brian (Hoboken): Why has there never been much discussion about putting Phil Hughes in the Yanks bullpen? Joba has 4-5 plus pitches, so it'd almost be a waste to put him back there. But Hughes has only 2 plus pitches, and has a recent history of injuries. He could be dominant in the 8th for awhile. I know the "Joba to the 'pen" argument is old ... so I'm starting a new one!

Yes, why not? Hughes has the low-90s fastball and the big curve and not much else, and the low-90s fastball might become a mid-90s fastball if he's out there for just an inning or two at a time. The Yankee bullpen currently sports a 5.46 ERA, third-worst in the league. Doesn't a slight change in course seem to be in order? After all, Brian Bruney can do only so much.

I suppose the argument is that Hughes still has a shot to be a good starter, but needs more Triple-A innings if that's going to happen. I don't know, though. Johan Santana got 49 Triple-A innings along with his bullpen apprenticeship in the majors, and he seems to have done pretty well for himself. There are different ways to succeed, and it'll be a shame if the Yankees fall short this season because they got locked into just the one way.