Nady Getting Some Action

From Kim Jones of the YES Network:

Nady is scheduled to play in a simulated game of some sort in Tampa tomorrow. He'll hit only. Posada, Molina and Ransom are also in Tampa; they're not ready for any game action yet.

This is very interesting. Remember when we all thought Xavier Nady would be out for the season after needing Tommy John surgery? Remember how worried we were? And remember how soon we forgot about him when all four outfielders got off to blazing starts?

Well he's almost back and will certainly create a glut of outfielders.

You know Girardi won't sit Nady everyday. If Nick Swisher is still in his sudden slump, Nady could work back into the lineup. Then again, you don't want Swisher's power on the bench. Johnny Damon is definitely not being sat as he's one of the best hitters in baseball. Melky Cabrera is a beast at the plate and a defensive superstar. And Brett Gardner, who is usually off the bench as a pinch runner, has hit .290 (.421 OBP, .645 SLG) in May. Not to mention, he has more homeruns than David Ortiz. None of the four deserved to be benched or, in Gardner's case, sent to the minors.

If Brian Cashman wants to trade one of his outfielders, the player that makes the most sense at this point is Nady. However, his value has to be in the pits after having a potentially severe elbow injury -- one that I bet we haven't heard the last of this season.

So we'll see.

Jones also mentioned that Jorge Posada and Jose Molina are scheduled to come back soon, which means Francisco Cervelli could find himself in the minors again. That would be a shame given that he's performed way above expectations -- both batting and catching. I know Girardi is a catcher by trade, but he won't carry three of them on his roster.

--Max Caster