Yankees and Major League Baseball arrive at a crossroads

A heading not about that money thing

I don’t know, but this is the off-season to decide. And they need to decide now on some of them. The most likely scenario is that the Yankees keep Didi, Bird and Torres for sure. That only leaves one starters role and one back-up.

If Andujar is real, trade Starlin Castro now, fresh off of his all-star season of career-high home runs, in a package for a starting pitcher with some of these others. That might pry Chris Archer out of Tampa.

But if he is not, trade him in a package for a great reliever, someone who can help this year and beyond.

The same for Estrada. If he is real, he becomes either a starter or the primary back-up; either Castro or Andujar would need to be traded in this scenario. If not, the Yankees need to decide now and deal him while his value is at its highest.

Yes, you comment writers, it would be great if the team could wait until the trade deadline and see how everyone does, but that’s wasting wins. If one of those players is not in the long-term plans, trade him for a big-time starter or reliever who will help the Yankees in 2018 and beyond.

And that brings us to the final way the Yankees find themselves at a defining off-season: Money.