Yankees GM Brian Cashman: Alex Rodriguez needs to lose weight

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters Wednesday that Alex Rodriguez needs to lose some weight before the start of spring training.

"Like all our players, we have a report weight we are hopeful they hit. He is approaching that. He is not at the spring-training weight that we desire yet," Cashman said, according to the New York Post. "There was progress. [We] continue to tweak his conditioning program."

Classic Photos of Alex Rodriguez

Rich Schultz/AP

After missing a pitch during a rehab game with Trenton on Saturday, Rodriguez flips his bat.

Tom Mihalek/AP

Rodriguez answers questions at a news conference Friday after a rehab game with the Trenton Thunder.

Bill Frakes/SI

A-Rod loses some sunflower seeds during a rehab game with the Charleston RiverDogs in early July.

Chuck Solomon/SI

The Yankees third baseman can't quite reach this foul ball into the Camden Yards crowd in September 2012.

Alo Ceballos/FilmMagic

Alex Rodriguez with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis and their daughters, Natasha and Ella Rodriguez, in August 2012.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

A-Rod attends the Caliche Rum party in May 2012 with Cindy Crawford.

Chuck Solomon/SI

A-Rod approaches former Marine Cpl. And Purple Heart recipient Megan Leavey and combat dog Sgt. Rex during a pre-game ceremony in May 2012.

Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

Rodriguez thinks this court side kiss with WWE diva Torrie Wilson at a January 2012 Lakers-Rockets game is just right.

Chuck Solomon/SI

Rodriguez stands in the driving rain during Game 1 of the AL Divisional Series against the Tigers in 2011.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

Rodriguez tried on a white coat at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital where in 2010 he dedicated a new children's outpatient center named in his honor. The next day, he performed a little surgery on his former Seattle team, with a home run, a double and two RBI in a Yankees victory over the Mariners.

Walter Iooss Jr./SI

Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Edgar Renteria and friends were all linked together by more than their chains for this photo shoot: they were part of a wave of talented young shortstops to reach the majors in the late 1990s.

Chuck Solomon/SI

A-Rod waits to bat during Spring Training in 2010.

NY Daily News/Getty Images

Rodriguez channels his inner Louis Tiant at the David Ortiz Golf Classic in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic reclining with a fine cigar.

George Pimentel/Getty Images

TomKat and...CamRod? Rodriguez and actress Cameron Diaz pose here with Hollywood power-couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes at the W Hotel in South Beach during the CAA Super Bowl party in 2010.

NY Daily News/Getty Images

Alex Rodriguez and his then-girlfriend, Kate Hudson, steal a kiss at the Yankees' Family Picnic Day on July 25, 2009.

Noel Vasquez/Getty Images

Everybody wants to be a rock superstar, even A-Rod, who is seen here watching a Lakers game in November 2009 with Cypress Hill's B-Real, and will.i.am and Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas.

Ray Tamarra/Getty Images

Not even Alex Rodriguez is too trendy to look both ways before crossing the street. Here the Yankees slugger combines the blue flat cap with mirrored aviators and a black quarter-zip pullover in a look that says, I know you see me coming, but I see you coming as well, car."

James Devaney/WireImage

A-Rod and Jay-Z undoubtedly discussing the ethics of campaign finance reform while taking in a routine from the Knicks City Dancers at Madison Square Garden in November of 2009.

Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage

Six degrees of A-Rod: Richard Gere starred in Pretty Woman with Jason Alexander, who was the voice of Poseidon on Disney's Hercules, which also featured James Woods, who appeared in the 1997 alien flick Contact with Matthew McConaughey who co-starred in How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days with Kate Hudson, who once dated Rodriguez.

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

Shaq greets A-Rod at his MLB All-Star Week party at the 40/40 club in New York City.

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Jay-Z might be off the oversized clothes and chains, but A-Rod showed up at the 40/40 Club rocking enough gold to make Michael Phelps jealous in early May 2008.

Jason Kempin/WireImage

Cynthia and Alex Rodriguez ring in their last New Year's Eve as a couple in 2007 by appearing on NBC in Times Square.

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

Rodriguez strikes a "Dynasty" pose with LeBron James and former Roc La Familia record label president OG Juan at the Opening Night of Jay-Z's 40/40 Club in Las Vegas.

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

He mingled with past and present NBA stars at the 40/40 club that night, including Julius Erving here.

Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Rodriguez holds up his children's book, <italics>Out of the Ballpark</italics>, at a book signing in July 2007.

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images

Rodriguez, um, clowned around with Ronald McDonald and kids in Miami at a January 2007 fundraiser.

Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

Santa's wish list was full of requests from Rodriguez in 2005. MVP award? Check. World Series ring? Not yet.

Robert Beck/SI

From his familiar seats at Angels Stadium, agent Scott Boras chatted with one of his superstar clients during the 2007 season. Maybe it was about the texture of the dirt. Maybe it was about A-Rod's contract. After the season, Rodriguez would cause controversy by announcing to opt-out of his contract during the World Series.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

His appearance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" in 2003 was just the beginning of Rodriguez's excursion into comedy. He made his silver-screen debut in 2011 in the film <italics>Friends with Benefits</italics>, starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.

Marty Lederhandler/AP

Then-Mariner Rodriguez models a 49ers jersey at the first-ever ESPY fashion show in 1997.

Bill Frakes/SI

A young Rodriguez smiles during a game for Westminster Christian High in 1993.

Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

Back in 1993, Rodriguez didn't have quite as much in the bank. Hence, the taped-together headphones he sported while at the U.S. Olympic Festival in Colorado as a high-school student.

​Cashman declined to specify how much Rodriguez currently weighs, or what the Yankees' goal weight is. He is listed on the Yankees roster at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. 

A-Rod has been working with Yankees strength and conditioning coach Matt Krause and is said to be making progress, but A-Rod is still above the team's goal weight. 

• Report: Dodgers agree to four-year deal with P Brandon McCarthy​

Rodriguez was suspended for the entirety of the 2014 season for his involvement in the Biogenesis PED scandal. He with return to the team in 2015, but it remains unclear what his role will be.

"I don't think it's safe to just assume Alex can play third base," Cashman said in October, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Wallace Matthews. Cashman said that manager Joe Girardi has explored the possibility of having Rodriguez play some games at first base.

• Alex Rodriguez tailgate tour continues at Alabama-Arkansas game​

The Yankees have Martin Prado, a versatile fielder who is primarily a third baseman, and are also reportedly still interested in bringing back third baseman Chase Headley. 

​

- Jack Jorgensen