The LoHud Yankees Blog

(In the interest of sanity, yours and mine, I’m proposing that the comments on this post not be about Alex Rodriguez, Selena Roberts or steroids. If for some reason you feel the need to post about those subjects, try the previous post. Or take two Ambiens with a vodka chaser. Enough is enough for now.)

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The Atlanta Braves need outfield help, so it makes sense that they would check in with Brian Cashman, who has an extra one.

But according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, the Braves passed on Bobby Abreu because they couldn’t wedge $5 million into their budget.

Xavier Nady is on the books for $6.55 million next year and Nick Swisher for $5.3 million. So if C-Money is going to make that deal, he might have to pick up some money. If that is the case, the Yankees should get a much better return.

I consulted the Baseball America Prospect Handbook. How about Nady and $2 million to the Braves for OF Gorkys Hernandez, LHP Jeff Locke and a lesser prospect? I’m just picking names, but I think it makes sense. Hernandez is a good CF prospect but the Braves already have one of those in Jordan Schafer. Locke is a 21-year-old from New Hampshire who had a poor season in low A ball but has velocity and command. Maybe he needs to meet Nardi Contreras.

The Yankees badly need position player prospects and they lack LH starters in their system beyond Jeremy Bleich and young dudes like Nik Turley and Manny Banuelos.

Now don’t go spreading rumors, I’m just throwing this out there and channelling my inner Joel Sherman for a moment.

Personally, I keep Swisher instead of Nady.

UPDATE, 7:05 p.m.: I should have said this in the original post. I think they should keep both Nady and Swisher so as to have a deeper, versatile bench. But if they do make a trade and include money, it should be for a high return. In the current baseball economy, payroll relief is a pretty big deal.

And to get Hernandez and Locke, they’d probably have to include a decent prospect along with Nady. Here’s how I figure it, if Cash is going to do a deal with the Braves, he should get exactly what he wants. Sitting on Nady and Swisher is just fine.

The Yankees invited three more prospects to big-league camp: RHP J.B. Cox, RHP George Kontos and RHP Kanekoa Texeira.

I had sort of wondered why these guys weren’t invited in the first place. Kontos is the pitcher who was nearly included in the trade with Pittsburgh last summer. Texeira was acquired from the White Sox when Brian Cashman fleeced them for Nick Swisher.

Cox is the once well-regarded prospect who has had some ups and downs with the organization. He once projected as a late-inning reliever and now needs to prove himself after an uneven 2008 that saw him appear in only 39 games.

(I’m trying to come up with stuff not related to A-Rod, steroids and Selena Roberts. Work with me people. Work with me).

I’m sick of A-Rod, too. So here’s some baseball stuff to turn the tide:

Brian Bruney and Jonathan Albaladejo were at the workout this morning.

Bruney remains trimmed up and was in great spirits. I think he is going to be a big, big piece of the puzzle. Although he pitched in only 34.1 innings last season, opponents hit .153 off him. He also handles left-handed hitters well.

Bruney isn’t as colorful as Joba, but he has that same competitive mindset and he’s not afraid to challenge hitters. I think he can be an effective set-up man and will allow Joe Girardi to use Damaso Marte in optimal situations. Marte, in my mind, is not a pure eighth-inning guy

And don’t sleep on Albaladejo. He made the team out of camp last season and pitched fairly well (outside of one bad outing against Detroit) before he hurt his elbow. He’ll have a shot.

I’m also surprised by what I’ve seen from Jorge Posada. He is showing good pop in the cage and I think it’s a good sign that on Feb. 11 he’s receiving balls in a crouch and coming out of it to throw. The Yankees will be cautious with him all camp but he seems to be on pace for Opening Day.

For a guy like Posada, given his age and experience, it’s better to be cautious. As long as he gets his at-bats, how many innings he catches in the spring isn’t a huge concern. He can catch the new pitchers in the bullpen to learn them.

Yankees officials said today that Alex Rodriguez is expected in camp on Tuesday, although he could check in earlier and start working out because he is on a WBC roster.

Rodriguez realizes, I was told, that he will need to address the media again. I’m sure there will be many questions about what he did in Texas given all the holes in the story he told Peter Gammons.

But at this point, who really cares? Rodriguez cheated and he lied about it for years. To what degree he cheated and lied doesn’t really make a difference. Rodriguez even made up a series of wild tales about Selena Roberts trying to break into his house. You can’t really believe anything he says, so asking him questions won’t prove anything. A freshman journalism student could catch him in a lie at this point.

Come in, say what you have to say and move along. Andy Pettitte did it the right way last season.

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It’s hard to feel sorry for anybody who will make $5 million. But Bobby Abreu can’t be a happy camper with his one-year deal with the Angels. How did the Mets pass on him for that kind of money?

Meanwhile, capable reliever Juan Cruz can’t get a deal because no teams wants to forfeit a first-round pick for him. Might he be better off waiting to after the draft and signing with a team then? Just an idea.

Came over to Big Stein Field and picked up a roster.

Nick Swisher has 33. Brian Bruney has 38. Angel Berroa has 14. 19 for Kevin Cash. Phil Hughes went back to 65.

Yes, I’ll post about anything. But people had asked about Swish.

Just spoke to Joba Chamberlain. He’s up to 35 pitches off the mound and is throwing all of his pitches.

“In my mind I’m preparing for 200 innings and 30 starts,” he said.

It speaks well of him to gave gotten here so early. He really has embraced being a starter.

Lock your doors, Shelley Duncan is here.

Here’s an award-winning photo of Nick Swisher taking BP a few minutes ago.

He doesn’t know what number he’s getting yet. Hey, 6 might be available now.

There’s one hitter in the cages now, former first-round pick Eric Duncan.

It hasn’t worked out for Duncan, but it’s not for lack of effort. He always seems to be the first guy here. He’ll likely be in AAA and — who knows? — maybe he’ll get a shot.

I know a lot of coaches in the organization would like to see it.

Meanwhile this whole working in the morning deal is still taking some getting used to.

Here we are at the minor-league complex watching Jorge Posada throw.

Head athletic trainer Gene Monahan is supervising and counting his tosses. Posada is in right field throwing from different distances.

I’m certainly no medical expert, but he is throwing pretty well and even coming out of a crouch. His rehab seems to be coming along.