Curtis called up, Hughes rules implemented

Before tonight’s game, the Yankees made a couple of key team decisions. First, The Yankees announced Phil Hughes won’t make his next scheduled start on Friday in an attempt to keep his innings count under control. He will now make his next start a week from Tuesday against the Mariners.

Bryan Hoch reports he won’t be pushed back any more until at least after the All-Star break. To quickly sum up the plan, he’ll make three starts instead of four before the break, and then will rest an additional full turn in the rotation after the break.

I’m glad the Yankees are essentially ignoring the fact that Hughes is the co-league leader in wins right now and his 3.17 ERA. They’re looking ahead to the future, not getting caught up in one season. I have no problems with the move.

The Yankees second decision was designating extra catcher Chad Moeller for assignment, opening up a spot for minor league outfielder Colin Curtis.

Curtis was hitting .280/.357/.368 in Triple-A with 0 HR and 12 RBIs.

Curtis joins backup outfielder Chad Huffman on the bench. It will be interesting to see how Joe Girardi uses them. Even more interesting will be the mini competition between them to keep their roster spot when say Marcus Thames returns from the DL.