Ivan Nova was optioned to Triple-A Scranton today to make room on the New York Yankees roster for Phil Hughes, who seems to have recovered his form during rehab starts in the minor leagues.

Nova was 8-4 with a 4.12 ERA. Although shaky in the beginning, Nova was beginning to settle down and show signs of being a solid starter. But Hughes has been hitting the mid-90s on the radar gun with his fastball, and striking batters out. Hughes could be dominant in the pennant race; Nova would keep the Yankees in games. ESPN reports that the Yanks will put Nova on a schedule that keeps him in shape to be a starter.

Spot starter Brian Gordon was sent down to the minors when Bartolo Colon returned to the big-league club after rehabbing a pulled hamstring.

Freddy Garcia and Colon might be on a short leash for the rest of the season if the AL East remains tight and if either of them falls into a slump.

For that matter, Yankee fans might start howling for Nova to return if A.J. Burnett falters at all. Burnett is 8-6 this year, but in his three years with New York he's 31-30.

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