Phil Hughes looked like he had the potential to be one of the best pitchers in baseball early in his career with the New York Yankees, but he has basically had a rough go at it ever since. Still, at least one team may be willing to take a chance on the right-hander.
On Monday, the Minnesota Twins designated Phil Hughes for assignment after he was unable to prove he is worthy of a spot in the starting rotation or bullpen. According to Twins beat writer Mike Berardino, the Detroit Tigers could be interested in the right-hander.
Keep an eye on #Tigers as a potential landing spot for Phil Hughes. He had a long talk with #Tigers bullpen coach Rick Anderson today and publicly thanked Anderson for his contributions as PC after their record-setting 2014 season that led to ill-fated, 3-year extension.
— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) May 22, 2018
Hughes has an ERA of 6.75 in seven appearances this season. He went 4-3 with a 5.87 ERA last year and 1-7 with a 5.95 ERA the year before. It certainly doesn’t appear that the 31-year-old has much left in the tank, and Hughes is making $13.2 million this season and next. Any team that claims him would be on the hook for that salary.
Hughes had a very unique surgery two years ago in an attempt to correct the thoracic outlet syndrome he was dealing with, but he simply hasn’t been the same pitcher he was earlier in his career.
