BOSTON — Phil Hughes was in Buffalo this morning at 1:45 a.m., resting up for his planned two-inning appearance for the Rochester Red Wings tonight, when his phone rang. There's been a change of plans.
Hughes is in uniform at Fenway Park today, and could face major league hitters for the first time since May 21 tonight. The veteran righthander was activated from the 10-day disabled list this afternoon, replacing lefthander Craig Breslow, who will be sidelined at least through the All-Star break by soreness in his ribcage.
"Given where we're at, in terms of some [relievers] being down because of recent usage, we had to find a way to replenish a little bit," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "If he gets into the game, there's a good chance [Hughes] is going to be asked to pitch 35 to 40 pitches."
Hughes said the discomfort he felt a month ago, when the symptoms of his thoracic outlet syndrome returned, "is something that can be managed," and he didn't feel like anything was being accomplished by staying on the disabled list. He doesn't feel that his move to the bullpen is permanent, though it might be hard to return to the starting rotation this season.
Hughes was an accomplished reliever for the Yankees in 2009, but has made only four relief appearances in the past six seasons. He said he believes returning to effectiveness out of the bullpen is only a matter of confidence, and three scoreless relief outings at Rochester has him ready to pitch.
Breslow, who has allowed 12 runs in his last five outings, said the rib soreness has been an occasional problem this season, something he's been pitching through. But with the Twins in need of relievers due to plenty of overuse this month, "I didn't feel like I could go in and ask for a couple of days off."
That's why Molitor and the front office made the decision to speed up Hughes' return. Breslow "has been able to pitch through this soreness for the most part," Molitor said. "It made sense as we head into the break to maybe get that calmed down."
The Twins hope they won't need much bullpen help tonight. It's an interesting matchup — rookie lefthander Adalberto Mejia faces the reigning Cy Young winner, righthander Rick Porcello, and the numbers say it isn't as lopsided a matchup as you might imagine. Porcello has a 5.00 ERA, basically the same as Mejia's 4.96, and though he won his last start, Friday against the Angels, he has allowed four or more runs in seven of his last nine starts.
