Minneapolis (St. Paul Pioneer Press)  Five relief outings were all the Twins needed to see from Phil Hughes to know it wasn’t going to work.

In a move that was surprising only in its timing, the Twins designated the 31-year-old right-hander for assignment after Monday’s game. They have seven days to trade, release or pass Hughes through waivers, which he almost certainly would clear with nearly $22.6 million remaining on his contract through 2019.

The Twins did not ask Hughes to accept a minor-league assignment before making this expensive decision.

Hughes made a pair of starts late last month but failed to complete four innings either time before being shunted to the bullpen, where he did some of his best work a decade ago with the Yankees. He pitched to a 5.40 ERA in a mop-up role, causing the Twins to move on before Ervin Santana or Trevor May were ready to come off the disabled list.