TAMPA, Fla. — Phil Hughes arrived at camp penciled in as the Yankees' No. 4 starter, and he felt his work over the winter had put him in good shape. After refining his mechanics and dropping that troublesome cutter from his repertory, he looked forward to playing a steady role this season.
And that might still happen, but first he must overcome a setback that has stirred concern in the front office. Hughes revealed Wednesday that a bulging disk in his upper back had been diagnosed after a magnetic resonance imaging test, and he could be sidelined two weeks.
While Hughes, a right-hander, was optimistic, saying he already felt better after taking oral anti-inflammatory medication and hoped to resume throwing next week, General Manager Brian Cashman appeared more guarded in his timetable for Hughes's return.
"I could stand here and say, 'Yeah, I'm excited, and thankfully it's a low-level situation, and blah, blah, blah,' " Cashman said. "But I think we really need to get through this stuff to make sure it responds that way."
Hughes, 26, compiled a 16-13 record last season with a 4.23 earned-run average, but durability has been an issue. He missed nearly three months of the 2011 season with inflammation in his throwing arm, and in his six major league seasons he has never pitched more than 1911/3 innings.
He sustained the injury Monday when he reached for a ball while covering first base in a fielding drill. He described the play as "nothing I haven't done a thousand times before," but said he felt something "grab" between his shoulder blades, on his right side. Hughes said it was difficult to get out of bed Tuesday.
The M.R.I. showed that the injury involved the fifth and sixth vertebrae on the thoracic part of his spine.
"There's always a concern when I'm doing a simple thing like covering first base, and I feel it and it's in an area where I'm not used to having issues," Hughes said. "But after a couple days of letting it heal, I'm encouraged with where it's at."
Dr. Andrew Hecht, an orthopedic surgeon and the co-chief of spine surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in Manhattan, said disk problems along the thoracic spine were rare, because the area is attached to the sternum and more rigid as a result.
"These usually get better with conservative treatment that includes an anti-inflammatory," said Hecht, who was speaking generally and had no direct knowledge of Hughes's case. "The fact that he's already feeling better is a very good sign."
While Manager Joe Girardi said he was pleased that Hughes was improving, he stressed caution. Until he sees Hughes back on a mound, there are too many unknowns. "There's concern because we're not going to see him doing anything, really for 10 days to two weeks," Girardi said.
Girardi, a former catcher, said he had bulging disks in his back — lower, middle and upper — throughout his playing career.
"It's something that you learn to deal with," he said. "And I still have issues, but I'm careful about what I do."
Hughes said the plan was for him to continue to take medication and do some low-resistance training in a swimming pool toward the weekend, and then undergo additional physical therapy. "Best-case scenario, I pick up a ball in six, seven days," he said.
Hughes cited his off-season work as cause for optimism. He began throwing bullpen sessions even before he arrived at camp. Girardi said Hughes probably was capable of throwing "two or three innings" before he hurt himself.
Hughes's uncertain status could elevate the profiles of some of the Yankees' more inexperienced pitchers, including the right-hander David Phelps, who is scheduled to start Saturday in the spring-training opener against the Atlanta Braves. Phelps, who finished with a 4-4 record and a 3.34 E.R.A. in 11 starts for the Yankees last season, said he was trying to stay focused.
"It's just a matter of showing what I'm capable of," Phelps said. "It's more about proving it to myself than to any of the coaches. Because every year, you always have that fear of coming in and being like, Is this the year I stop getting guys out?"
Pitching depth could be especially important for the Yankees this season. Cashman predicted the team's offense would produce fewer runs than it did last season, when the lineup included Alex Rodriguez, Nick Swisher, Raul Ibanez and Russell Martin, all of whom were capable of hitting for power. And while Rodriguez, who continues to rehabilitate his surgically repaired hip in Miami, could return at some point, the others are no longer wearing pinstripes.
"The lineup is different — less power, less discipline — and that's going to equate to less runs scored," Cashman said.
So if pitching was supposed to be the team's strength, the Hughes situation is a bit alarming, an early dose of reality for a team with a thin margin of error.
"Obviously, it's something you wish you weren't dealing with, and hopefully it's nothing major," Cashman said. "There's no guarantees until we get through the two-week process and see where he's at and he's back on the mound."
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