If you haven't heard the rumor, the Yankees are "quietly" making Nick Swisher available for trade. I have no idea if there is any truth to this, nor do I know how available Brian Cashman has made him.  However, if this rumor is correct, I think I may know why. 

Compare Nick Swisher over the last three seasons to a certain Mystery player X:

Want to guess who this mystery player is?  I'll give you a hint: he just reportedly turned down a 4-year, $60 million dollar offer.

Jason Bay is the second-most coveted, and likely to be the second-highest paid, outfielder/hitter on the free agent market this offseason.  And while he's a fine player, I'm just not that convinced he's that much better than Swisher when you factor in defense and age.  And that's where it gets interesting. 

Bay is 31 years old, and at this point it seems unlikely that he'll sign for anything less than 5 years/$75 million.  Swisher, on the other hand, is only 29, and is signed for a total of $25.5 million (including a team option) for the next three years. 

Given the choice between two good (but not elite) outfielders, most GMs would probably choose the younger, cheaper one. Brian Cashman is no doubt aware of this. Swisher is a great value, based on his production and his salary (and who the Yankees gave up for him), and  I have a feeling that his availability hinges on the number of teams who have pitching, need hitting, and don't want to spend eight figures in the free agent market.  

This is pure speculation, but the Atlanta Braves fit that description perfectly.  They have holes in at least one outfield corner and first base, in fact, the lack of offense probably kept them out of the playoffs in 2009.  They also have six good starting pitchers signed for 2010.  Tommy Hanson is untouchable and Tim Hudson just signed a three-year extension.  While they'd love to move Derek Lowe, his salary is probably too high, and nobody seems that interesting in Kenshin Kawakami.  That leaves Javier Vazquez (pass) and Jair Jurrjens.

One would think that any team would be reluctant to part with a 24 year old pitcher who's posted stellar ERAs the past two seasons.  I'm not suggesting this is probable or likely.  However, when a team is dealing from a position of strength to fill a glaring need, strange things can happen.  And I think Cashman may be dangling Swisher in hopes of a deal like this falling into his lap.