Unless he has a lights-out spring while Joba struggles I cannot see how he can start. At least not in the majors. I'm not saying he wouldn't be successful, but with his innings limit do the Yankees really want to put themselves in the same position they were in last year with Joba? When can he start? How many innings can he go? Yada yada yada.“I know I’m coming into the spring fighting for a job,” Hughes said after a pre-spring training workout on Thursday. “I’m out of the reliever mindset for right now. Anytime nothing is going to be handed to you, you strive to be a little bit better.”
Hughes started throwing in mid-December and has thrown fastballs off a mound a couple of times this month.
“You want to get as much rest as possible, but at the same time you want to get ready to go,” he said.
...
“I definitely feel at a point where I’ve never been, having the experience of consistently getting big league guys out,” Hughes said. “It helps, and obviously winning the World Series also helps.”
...“We’ve got four solid guys,” Hughes said. “During the course of a season there’s plenty of opportunities to skip the fifth spot.”
Regardless, it's good to hear that Hughes has his confidence as high as it can be right now and is working hard to impress. That's all you could ask from him.
