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According to reports, the Yankees are interested in trading Xavier Nady. Seems that with Johnny Damon, Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher, the Yankee outfield is full, and with Swisher able to play first base, Nady is the odd man out.

Only problem is, the free agent market is filled with outfielders. That means the Yankees will have to look for the right team with the right situation, and pitch a good deal. That might be difficult.

If I may…

The Yankees should go to the Atlanta Braves and offer OF Xavier Nady and 1B Juan Miranda for utility IF Martin Prado and minor leaguer SP Jeff Locke.

Let’s start with the Yankees. If they truly feel comfortable with Nick Swisher as their starting right fielder (and there are some questions about that), and that Swisher will bounce back at the plate from a poor 2008 season, then Nady to Atlanta makes sense.

Atlanta was 14th in the NL in HRs last year with a pathetic 130. Jeff Francoeur led the way for Braves outfielders with just 11 – and he did that while batting .239. The other outfields combined to hit 17. That’s not going to cut it.

Nady, by himself, had three fewer home runs than the entire Brave outfield last year. And, in these cost-conscious times, Nady will cost a heck of a lot less than a Manny Ramirez or Adam Dunn – just $6.55M for one year of service. Nady would shore up the Braves offense, which relied way too heavily on Brian McCann and Chipper Jones. And not one Brave had 100 RBI last year. Last year, when he switched leagues and faced new pitchers in new ballparks, Nady had 97 RBIs.

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