Phil Hughes will go back to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for more tests on his “dead” right arm today after spending 4½ hours there yesterday morning.
After last night’s 3-2 loss to the White Sox, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said there was no new information on Hughes’ condition and there would not be until after today’s round of tests.
The right-hander was at the hospital from 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. yesterday, getting MRI exams on his shoulder and elbow, a vascular blood circulation test akin to a blood pressure test, and another similar to an ultrasound to check his arteries.
The Yankees are leaving no stone unturned because they haven’t found what they’re looking for — a clear answer as to why a presumably healthy 24-year-old has lost velocity and is still suffering from dead arm and numbness. Hughes said he’s not scared of what the tests may turn up.
“If they find something, they find something. [I want to] figure out what’s going on,” said Hughes. “Basically, they want to get as many tests done as possible, just so we can paint a clear picture of exactly what’s going on. As much information as we can gather the better, put all the pieces together.”
As Hughes waited for answers, he admitted frustration at still having no idea what’s wrong with him, not being able to rule out structural damage and not having a clear plan to fix the problem.
“It’s frustrating,” Hughes said. “I wish we were sitting here talking about the great start we’ve gotten off to. But it’s just the road we’re on right now.”
After pitching to a 13.94 ERA in three starts, Hughes went on the 15-day DL on April 15. Both he and the Bombers said they didn’t think he was injured, didn’t need MRIs and hoped he’d rebuild his arm strength with long tossing and in bullpen sessions.
“They want to try to rule out everything they can. We don’t really know why he’s having this issue,” said Girardi, adding the team didn’t want to just do MRIs haphazardly because of the exposure to radiation. “They say you can only get a certain amount of MRIs a year. I don’t want him walking around like Spider Man.”
But Monday’s setback left little choice. After long tossing in the outfield with bullpen catcher Roman Rodriguez, Hughes lasted just a dozen pitches off the mound in the bullpen before cutting the session short.
“When it didn’t go the way we wanted it to go, that’s why we had to resort to this,” said Hughes. “Nobody’s happy about it. It’s frustrating. But once I didn’t feel right, doing these tests was really the only other option to find out what was really going on. I’m surprised it got this far, but it is what it is. [We need to] find out what issues I’m having, and get some program in place to fix them.”
Hughes said he doesn’t feel pain, just a numbness. But he said it would be hard for him to win pitching in this state — he estimates he’s at 85 percent — and acknowledges that doctors can’t rule out the possibility of structural damage.
“There’s a chance; that’s why we’re doing this, so we can find out,” said Hughes. “I want to be out there, and out there 100 percent. When I don’t have that, it’s frustrating. But I just have to find out what’s going on and try to get it right.”