Late model rear end

My plan to align the transmission and pinion is to narrow the long side of the rear end by about 2 inches, this will solve 2 problems: 1. The pinion will now be centered with the transmission 2. The rear end will be the exact same width as the original. What I am wondering is if I can get another right side shorter axle and use that in narrowed side instead of having the exisiting one shortend by a machine shop.