CHICAGO — Shortly after Joe Girardi announced Phil Hughes will start Tuesday against the Angels at Yankee Stadium, the manager said the right-hander’s gem wasn’t a big factor in the decision.
“I wouldn’t read too much into it,” Girardi said of Hughes retaining a spot in the Yankees’ rotation by firing six shutout innings at the White Sox in a rain-shortened 6-0 win Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Field. “You take it as it goes.”
Though Girardi reiterated the organization views Hughes as a starter, he wasn’t definitive about Ivan Nova’s immediate future.
Nova starts tonight against the White Sox, but beyond that, Girardi said the issue requires discussion.
“We want Nova to throw well and if he continues to throw well we will have to answer some questions,” Girardi said of the 24-year-old right-hander who is riding a five-game win streak and is third on the staff with nine wins despite missing a month when he was at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre because Hughes went into the rotation when he returned from the disabled list in early July.
Nova, who has held teams to two earned runs or fewer in 17 starts, is 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA. Girardi said there are a number of ways he could go. One was to stay with a six-man rotation but that could interrupt the routines of CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. Another plan could land Nova in the bullpen, though he has very limited experience in relief. Or he could be sent to Triple-A until the Yankees need a starter.
“I love the way Nova is throwing the ball and I want him to continue to do the same thing,” Girardi said before the Yankees’ 18-7 decimation of the White Sox last night. “Our plans could change, nothing is set in stone. We haven’t had a ton of discussions.”
Before Girardi said Hughes was starting Tuesday, Nova was asked about possibly being shifted to the bullpen.
“The big leagues are the big leagues, nobody wants to be in the minor leagues,” said Nova, who has appeared in 28 big league games — 24 as a starter. “If they need me to go to the bullpen, I will go to the bullpen.”
Like Hughes, Nova said he wasn’t paying too much mind to the competition between the right-handers.
“It’s another start for me,” said Nova, who cruised to a 17-3 win over the Orioles Saturday night when the Yankees scored a dozen runs in the opening inning. “I have to do my job. I take it start by start and I’m looking forward to it.”
Asked if he could use a six-man rotation and keep Sabathia and Burnett on regular four-day rest, Girardi said it’s possible.
“You could do that,” Girardi said. “As I said, we will evaluate it.”
Girardi’s plans to start Hughes might have changed if the White Sox punished him. Instead, his fastball opened at 95 mph and it hovered in the 93-mph range for all six innings when he allowed three hits and never faced a batter with a runner in scoring position.
Based on Girardi’s statement, all Hughes had to do against the White Sox was not fall completely apart to remain in the rotation.
“We have looked at Phil as a starter, but you can’t tell what happens in two or three weeks,” Girardi said. “[Starting] is what we have built him up [for].”