NEW YORK (AP) -Phil Hughes is looking at his first start in more than four months as a chance to show the New York Yankees that he can still be the future ace they have touted him to be.
“I really am confident in the way I am pitching – knowing I can throw strikes,” Hughes said Tuesday. “I think I’m more mechanically sound right now.”
Hughes will bring a refined motion and a pair of glasses, instead of the contacts that irritated his eyes, when he takes the mound Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox for his first big league outing since he left his start April 29 with a stress fracture in his rib.
The injury was the final blow of a disastrous start to the season for Hughes, who, along with Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain and several other prospects, was being called the future of the Yankees’ staff. General manager Brian Cashman even turned down a trade in the offseason for Johan Santana that included Hughes in the package.
ing an injury that sidelined him for an extended period for the second straight year. In 2007, Hughes missed three months with a strained left hamstring.
Hughes struck out 12 in five innings Friday night to help Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre clinch the International League championship, and the Yankees called him up Saturday.
While one start can’t undo nearly six months of frustration, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he sees the opportunity for Hughes to face the AL Central leaders as a way for the 22-year-old to take something positive into the winter.
“I still think it’s important for players to have carrots to hang onto in the offseason,” Girardi said. “I still believe he could be a valuable pitcher, and I actually believe the experiences could help him in the long run because in this game you deal with adversity.”
Even if Hughes dazzles the Yankees Wednesday, he will not be guaranteed a spot in the rotation next year.
“I think that next year people are going to have to fight for jobs,” Girardi said.
Hughes said he will pitch in the Arizona Fall League for about 1 1/2 months to help build up innings that he missed this season and will try to get into midseason form next year by April.
ng to chase an established ace such as CC Sabathia in the free-agent market this offseason after the plan to rely on youngsters backfired.
In other news, Robinson Cano was back in the lineup after being benched by Girardi for Monday’s game after he failed to hustle for a play in the field on Sunday.
Cano was pulled from the game against Tampa Bay on Sunday after he was late retrieving Cliff Floyd’s hard grounder that caromed into shallow right field. Cano didn’t immediately chase the ball after it deflected off the glove of diving first baseman Jason Giambi.
Girardi said he returned Cano to the lineup after having “a nice talk with Robbie about being the player he’s capable of being.”
For his part, Cano said he learned from his “mistake” and that he was ready to go out and, “show my teammates that I want to play, run hard, play hard.”
Cano is struggling through the worst season of his four-year career, batting .260 with 13 homers and 61 RBIs. He entered 2008 with a .314 career average, including a .342 mark in 2006 when he was selected to the All-Star team.
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