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As George King reports, it looks like we won't have Xavier Nady to kick around anymore. Not this season, anyway:

The Post has learned Xavier Nady's season is over and next year is in question, too.

According to several teammates, the Yankees outfielder told them late Thursday night that his right elbow requires Tommy John surgery, a procedure that often takes 12-14 months recovery.

Reached today, all Nady said was, "I am going to have a lot of time on my hands."

--snip--

Though [Joe] Girardi had Nady only for seven games (in which he hit .286 with two RBIs) and there was no guarantee of having him back at some point, quietly the Yankees were hoping to have Nady's right-handed bat to help out in right field, where switch-hitter Nick Swisher is playing every day.

Now that won't happen. And though GM Brian Cashman said this week "a bat isn't needed," knowing that Nady isn't returning might change the Yankees' mind.

What would they do with a "bat," exactly? Swisher -- who took over when Nady got hurt in April -- is a switch-hitter who's equally effective against lefties and righties. Left fielder Johnny Damon is enjoying the finest season of his career. The corner infield positions are manned by two of the best hitters on the planet. And the Yankees' DH is Hideki Matsui, who isn't great and isn't going to be great, but is far from useless and is earning $13 million this season.

The Yankees being the Yankees, that $13 million isn't particularly relevant. If the Yankees picked up a right-handed bat, they could score a few extra runs, maybe win one more game or two. But that doesn't mean getting a "bat," per se. It just means going out and getting a "guy" who can hit left-handed pitching a little bit. Those guys are floating around, and Cashman can get one if he wants one.