Phil Hughes back with Twins, and in the bullpen for now

BOSTON – Phil Hughes isn't cured, exactly, but he's back with the Twins. His eagerness to help a surprising AL Central contender was stronger, the veteran righthander realized, than any lingering symptoms of circulatory problems in his pitching shoulder.

"It's something I have to manage. It's not going to go away overnight," Hughes said after being activated Wednesday, several days ahead of schedule, due to the Twins' ongoing shortage of rested pitchers. "Hopefully it's not something that hinders my ability to go out there and throw an inning or two."

It was, however, hindering his ability to throw 100 pitches at a time five weeks ago, the feeling of ennui in his arm and tingling in his fingers prompting fears that offseason surgery hadn't completely resolved his case of thoracic outlet syndrome, and that something still was limiting his blood flow. A shift to the bullpen, where his assignments will be shorter but his contributions still can be meaningful, has restored him to baseball health, Hughes said.

So it's the bullpen for now, and probably for the rest of 2017.

"I don't think [it's] permanent," he said of his new role. "We'll kind of reassess things when the opportunity comes," most likely during the offseason.

Hughes excelled as a reliever for the Yankees in 2009, eventually earning a job as the primary setup man for closer Mariano Rivera on a team that won a World Series. But he has come out of the bullpen only nine times since then, and only four in the past six seasons. Hughes, who pitched three one-inning stints for Class AAA Rochester on a rehab assignment last week, sounds energized by the opportunity to pitch again.

"A lot of times, you have to just roll with the punches. … Sitting on the DL didn't do anybody any good," said Hughes, who was informed that his rehab assignment was being cut short during a 1:45 a.m. phone call Wednesday in Buffalo, N.Y. "I've done this role before, had some success in it. But the biggest factor was just getting back and contributing in any way. I didn't want to miss out on contributing to a team that's doing well."

Breslow to DL

Craig Breslow took Hughes' place on the 10-day disabled list, but that had as much to do with the condition of the Twins' weary bullpen than his own.

Breslow has been pitching with occasional soreness in his ribs since spring training, and it returned after he threw 45 pitches on Tuesday. "In a perfect world, it's something that takes just a few days [for the pain to recede], but I understand where we are," Breslow said, referring to the Twins' shortage of rested relievers. "It's probably unfair for me to say, 'Hey, give me four or five days off and I'll be fine.' "

The lefthander will be sidelined through the All-Star break, which will give him a chance, Breslow said, to develop a better strategy for retiring righthanded hitters. Lefthanders are batting only .152 against him, but righthanders are batting .354.

Etc.

• Lefthanded reliever Mason Melotakis, designated for assignment Friday, cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Class AAA Rochester, where he already was pitching. Melotakis, who turned 26 Wednesday, has a 2.28 ERA with Rochester and Class AA Chattanooga this year, but the Twins risked losing the former second-round draft pick in order to make room for additional relievers on the major league team.

• Glen Perkins played catch on Wednesday, manager Paul Molitor said, and the Twins are developing a new throwing program in the wake of his setback last week. The three-time All-Star closer is recovering from shoulder surgery in 2016.

• Ehire Adrianza will play shortstop, third base and left field in a three-day rehab stint with Rochester, beginning Thursday. He's likely to be activated Monday.