Yankees rumors: Kyle Lohse, Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes

The New York Yankees got some bad news yesterday as right-hander Phil Hughes went down with a bulging disc in his upper back. For now, the injury to expected to sideline Hughes for only two weeks, but if it becomes worse then the Bombers may have pick up their pursuit of a veteran arm, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post:

If [Hughes] were to be downgraded by yet another injury, then what right now appears thin rotation depth becomes arguably a bigger trouble spot for the Yankees than the loss of those 100 or so homers from last year’s roster...

This is why the Yankees are fishing around for a veteran to put at Triple-A... though Cashman reiterated yesterday he has no interest in free agent Kyle Lohse.

Hey, look at that. Another team doesn't want anything to do with Kyle Lohse. How novel. New York is planning on scouting former Yankee Chien-Ming Wang when he pitches for Taiwan at the World Baseball Classic next month, so he could potentially solve their pitching-depth issues at a very low cost.

Related: Hughes Out With Bulging Disc

If the Yankees are unable to find a suitable acquisition and Hughes does go down, the club will be forced to put both Ivan Nova and David Phelps in the rotation, speculates Sherman, leaving just 25-year-old right-hander Adam Sherman in the wings should a second starter go down at any point.

With aging hurlers Andy Pettitte, 40, and Hiroki Kuroda, 38, accounting for 40 percent of the Bombers' rotation, perhaps the club would be suited added another arm just in case.