TAMPA — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said reliever Joba Chamberlain has added weight from a year ago but refused to divulge the amount of extra pounds.
Chamberlain didn’t elaborate on the subject, said he is in the best shape he has been in years and firmly explained yesterday was the final time he is going to address the topic.
Manager Joe Girardi said Chamberlain hasn’t been limited in drills and is doing well in bullpen sessions.
Welcome to the latest flash flood involving Chamberlain, who landed on Monday’s back page of The Post when Cashman said “anybody who has options is not a lock” to make the team.
Chamberlain has three options remaining and coming off a pedestrian 2010 — when he was at his best over the final two months, posting a 2.19 ERA, allowing 18 hits in 242⁄3 innings, walking five and fanning 22. In a team-high 73 games, Chamberlain was 3-4 with a 4.40 ERA.
“He is heavier and I will leave it at that,” Cashman said after Chamberlain threw a bullpen session at George M. Steinbrenner Field. “I want to be careful how I say it. Let other teams get the back page. He is heavier, which you guys already know.”
How much? Listed at 230 pounds in the Yankees’ 2010 postseason guide, it’s been speculated Chamberlain has packed on 10 to 20 pounds. Nevertheless, some in the organization believe the listed weight was light by about 10 pounds. If Chamberlain weighed 240 at the end of last year and added 20, that puts him in the 260 range.
“We have a suggested weight for everyone in camp, and I will leave it at that,” Girardi said.
Asked if he believed Chamberlain was in shape, Cashman said, “He is heavier and not the only one. We have other guys who are heavier. I will let you guys figure it out.”
The 6-foot-2 Chamberlain put a gym in his Nebraska home and said he wore it out this offseason. He appears to be bigger in the shoulders, lower body and face, though the mug could look fuller because Chamberlain’s hair is longer than last season.
“I am in better shape than I have been in the past couple of years,” Chamberlain said. “I have peace of mind now when I run.”
Chamberlain’s gym allowed him to follow the program implemented by strength and conditioning coach Dana Cavalea, who took Chamberlain to the exercise room following yesterday’s workout.
In order to delete some body movement from his delivery, Chamberlain is back to placing his hands at the belt the way he did when he surfaced in the big leagues in spectacular fashion at the end of 2007, instead of at the chest where they were last year. What also is different for the 25-year-old right-hander is that, for the first time, he is in the same role during spring training that he was when the previous season ended.
And there is no doubt in the Yankees’ mind that he is a reliever, not a starter.
“It’s a clear fit, the bullpen,” Cashman said of Chamberlain, who is competing with David Robertson for innings before Rafael Soriano sets up Mariano Rivera. “His stuff [as a starter and reliever] use to be equal. It’s not equal anymore. What’s the real reason? Who knows?”
A shoulder problem in 2008 has been pointed to as the reason Chamberlain’s velocity dropped as a starter. But he dismissed that.
“That was three years ago,” Chamberlain said. “That’s a dead issue for me.”
Fat or skinny, Girardi judges players on results.
“Joba will be evaluated on how he pitches,” Girardi said. “I am very pleased with him so far. He is throwing better bullpens than last year and that’s encouraging. He wouldn’t be able to do the running and throw the baseball if he didn’t work out.”
george.king@nypost.com