Joe Girardi said Nick Swisher possibly could be back in the lineup Saturday, but the manager was far from definitive on his right fielder, who didn't start his sixth straight game because of a mild left hip flexor strain.

"We talked about maybe tomorrow," Joe Girardi said Friday. "We'll see."

Swisher, who took BP at the Stadium prior to Friday's game, was far more confident.

"I'll be ready to pinch-hit today and I'll be ready to go [Saturday]," Swisher said.

Girardi didn't sound as sure, preferring to be more cautious.

"We are making sure he is as close to 100 percent as possible," Girardi said. "When you have a slight strain you have to make sure you don't necessarily have a setback. We don't want a setback. I don't think we are being overly cautious. He is just not quite ready."

With Swisher out of the lineup and against the righty Aaron Cook, Giardi pushed Ichiro Suzuki back to eighth in the order.

"Without some of our switch-hitters and our right-handers, we are just trying to split up our lefties the best we can and not have to pinch-hit as early in the games, at times," Girardi said.

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Girardi said Alex Rodriguez (broken hand) will have an X-ray at some point next week.

"In terms of a time-table, it really depends on how quickly that hand heals," Girardi said. "I'm not putting a time on it."

The expectation is six to eight weeks.

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When could we see Eduardo Nuñez or someone else besides Ramiro Peña as the Yankees' 25th man? Well, don’t ask Girardi. Peña is the man to him … until he isn't.

"Until it changes, he's our guy," Girardi said of Peña. "You are asking me to speculate if something will change. Today, he is our guy and I expect him to be our guy until something happens, but I'm not expecting anything to happen. I've never been a guy who has said, 'If we could just do this at the deadline.' I have 25 guys and he is one of them and we need a lot out of him. And that is how I will manage it."