TAMPA — Phil Hughes not only won the Yankees’ fifth starter sweepstakes by turning back Alfredo Aceves and Joba Chamberlain, he also has been named the ace of the far less glamorous extended spring program.
Because the Yankees are off three of the first nine days of the season, which opens Sunday in Boston, the team devised a plan in which Hughes will make two starts for the extended spring squad in Florida while remaining on the 25-man active squad.
Hughes will pitch Monday, rejoin the team in Boston then return to the extended spring program to work April 10. He is scheduled to make his first start of the season April 15 against the Angels at Yankee Stadium.
“The innings limitation that we have [roughly 170 to 175], we don’t need a fifth starter for a while, but we don’t want to hold off too long,” Joe Girardi said.
Hughes’ first start will consist of 90 to 100 pitches, and Girardi said they will back off that number in Hughes’ second extended outing.
The Yankees had other ways to go with Hughes. They could have optioned him to Triple-A and taken another reliever — lefty Boone Logan was a candidate.
“There are situations that could arise where you might need him to make a spot start,” Girardi said. “Or you get rained out and they want to play a split double-header. Obviously, that’s something you can do, but there could be a situation where we say, ‘You know what? We need you.’ If you send him down then you don’t have him. You could get into a 16-, 17-inning game.”
Shortly after allowing three runs and six hits in 42⁄3 innings against the Twins at George M. Steinbrenner Field yesterday, Hughes wasn’t sure what the plan was but hinted that he was headed for the extended spring program and didn’t believe he would stay with the team and simply be skipped. Girardi interrupted his postgame press conference to find the pitcher and deliver the plan.
Hughes was encouraged by his overall spring performance, in which he appeared in six games (three starts), went 0-4 with a 4.35 ERA, allowed 20 hits in 202⁄3 innings, fanned 20 and walked seven.
“I threw the ball a lot better the last three times out than at the beginning,” Hughes said. “The fastball command today was the best I had.”
A goal of pitching coach Dave Eiland coming into camp was to develop Hughes’ change-up to the point where he could feel comfortable with it.
“I don’t think I am done working on it, it’s not a finished process,” Hughes said. “With four pitches I can really pitch.”
So, how much better is the change-up today than it was six weeks ago?
“I am just throwing it and not pushing it,” said Hughes, who also features a fastball, cutter and curveball. “And I am not opposed to throwing it when behind in the count.”
Eventually, Hughes will get to do that against big league hitters. However, for now he will work on batters who are too young (or injured) to be assigned to a minor league roster.
That’s not exactly what Hughes had in mind, but there is nothing he can do about the gaps in the schedule.
george.king@nypost.com