MLB

Cashman’s hope for Hughes runs high

TAMPA — Brian Cashman and the Yankees are setting Phil Hughes’ bar fairly high.

Cashman, in talking yesterday about the decision to make Hughes the fifth starter, praised Joba Chamberlain’s work in the rotation last season, saying that he “did a good job” and that it would be natural for Chamberlain to pitch even better as a starter if he were in the rotation this season.

If that’s the case, Cashman was asked, the Yankees must expect Hughes to pitch even better than the improved Chamberlain would have.

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“That’s our hope,” Cashman said.

That’s a lot to ask of Hughes, who is 8-9 with a 5.22 ERA in 28 career starts. Chamberlain was 9-6 with a 4.75 ERA last year in 32 games, 31 starts.

Hughes, working on three days’ rest, made his first start since being named the No. 5 starter and allowed one run in three-plus innings in last night’s 3-0 loss to the Phillies. He walked four and threw two wild pitches. He needed 71 pitches. Hughes called that “too many.”

The Yankees still haven’t finalized their plan for limiting Hughes’ innings.

“We’ve started to map it out. Like Joba’s, I’m not going to give you the exact plan,” Joe Girardi said. “We’ll continue to map it out here. Last year it was mapped out, and the map changed a few times because of injuries.”

Girardi has said Hughes’ inning cap should be higher than Chamberlain’s last year. Hughes’ is probably in the 170-175 range.

Cashman said Chamberlain “can be [a good starter] right now. . . . I think he’s a starter who can pitch out of the pen.”

He said Chamberlain didn’t fail as a starter.

“That would be an inaccurate read,” he said. “I think if he took the ball for 30 starts in the rotation in the American League East for a team that wasn’t the Yankees, for instance, whether it was the Orioles or the Rays or whatever, people would look at it like, ‘All right, it was his first year as a big league starter, he did a good job and next year will be better.’”

Chamberlain admitted he was disappointed to lose the derby but said, “I’m happy for Phil first and foremost. He deserves it. . . . Now I get the opportunity to help the team in the bullpen.”

Chamberlain will make his first relief appearance since being shifted to the pen today.