The Yankees sent their 21-year-old right hander Phil Hughes to the 15-day DL after he strained his right oblique muscle. There is no word on when the injury occurred.

“It’s hard to put time frames on oblique strains,” General Manager Brian Cashman said. “They can linger. They can disappear after 15 (days).”

Hughes himself does not know how long to expect the injury to last. “It’s kind of just a day-to-day thing,” he said. “I talked to the doctor and he said it could be something I wake up and it feels fine.”

Joe Girardi wouldn’t commit to anything after his last start, but it appeared Hughes was on his way out of the Bronx after an abysmal start to this season. In six games this season he is 0-4 with a 9.00 ERA and with 13 walks and strikeouts over 22 innings. That’s an average of three and two thirds innings per start.

In his place the Yankees are likely to call up Darrell Rasner. The 27-year-old Rasner made six starts for the Bombers last season and had a 1-3 record with a 4.01 ERA. This season he has been impressive starting for the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. In five games he has a 4-0 record, a 0.87 ERA, and 27 strikeouts over 31 innings.

Other possible call-ups include Kei Igawa (2-3, 3.58 ERA) or Steven White (1-1, 3.58 ERA).

There is no word on where Hughes will report to after the injury, the Bronx or Scranton, but expect the Yankees to use this as an excuse to get him one or two minor league starts before coming back. Of course a lot of this will have to do with how well Rasner is performing.