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Joe Girardi says @philhughes65 will begin season on DL; both @ivannova47 and David Phelps will be in #Yankees rotation, reports @bryanhoch.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) March 27, 2013
It had seemed like things had been moving toward this for a while, but Girardi came through with confirmation today that Phil Hughes would begin the season on the Disabled List while still recovering from a bulging disc in his back that has kept him out of most of Spring Training. Girardi hopes that Hughes will be ready to return around April 11th.
This means that both Ivan Nova and David Phelps will be in the rotation to start the season, and could indicate that the team will carry Vidal Nuno or Adam Warren as the long reliever until Hughes is able to return. Nuno is the clear choice if Spring Training matters at all, but Warren is already on the 40-man roster, so it might not be the best idea to bet against him, regardless of how truly terrible he has been. There are not enough spots on the 40-man roster as it currently stands, and without the ability to place Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, or Manny Banuelos on the 60-day Disabled List to clear some room, you should expect more moves like the David Adams release over the next few days, unfortunately.
The amount of payroll the Yankees have on the Disabled List to start the season is already historic and growing, but that doesn't really matter. At least in this case, the Yankees have viable replacements in place to hold down the fort in the meantime. That's more than they can say for a lot of their other injuries this spring.