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Randy Miler | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

NEW YORK — It's hard not wondering 'what if' every time Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander manhandles the Yankees' great offense.

This 'what if' thought returned on Memorial Day afternoon at Yankee Stadium when Verlander was limiting the Yankees to Greg Bird's seventh-inning leadoff homer in his 6 2/3-inning, one-run outing that highlighted a 5-1 Astros victory.

It was there on May 1 in Houston when Verlander was even more lights-out pitching a three-hitter and striking out 14 over eight shutout innings in a no-decision.

And it most definitely was there last October when Verlander was an easy pick for ALCS MVP after holding the Yankees to one run in 16 innings in winning Game 2 and Game 6 in a series that went seven.

What if ...

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Just for the fun of it, let’s pretend the Detroit Tigers traded Verlander to the Yankees instead of the Houston Astros for prospects last Aug. 31.

Let’s also pretend the Tigers still agreed to pay $17.4 million of the $65.3 million that was remaining at the time on Verlander’s seven-year, $180-million contract … $1.356 million of the remaining $9.33 million last year, then $8 million of the $28 million owed for 2018 and $8 million of the $28 million owed for 2019.

And we’re also going to pretend Verlander still agreed to waive his $22 million vesting option for 2020 to retain full no-trade protection.

This definitely could have happened if Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner had allowed GM Brian Cashman to take on $47.9 million of salary for Verlander … $7.9 million last year, $20 million this year and $20 million next year.

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Looking back, that seems cheap for what Verlander has given the Astros, but this definitely was a roll of the dice at the time. The six-time All-Star was 34 and a good-but-not-great 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA for Detroit last year before going 12-2 with a 1.09 ERA in his first 17 starts with the Astros (2017-18) plus 4-1 with a 2.21 ERA in six postseason outings last fall.

The Yankees definitely had the goods to get Verlander, too, as their farm system is better and deeper than Houston's.

If only Steinbrenner had not prevented this deal from being a possibility. And, yes, according to a team exec, Cashman’s hands were tied here because Steinbrenner has been insisting for more than a year that the Yankees’ 2018 payroll must be under the $197-million luxury tax threshold so that the franchise’s luxury tax clock can be reset for 2019.

So ... what if?

Here's how the Yankees could be different had Verlander joined them last Aug. 31.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Yankees win World Series

We’ll start with the obvious one: If the Yanks get Verlander last year, they’re the reigning champs instead of Houston.

At the very least, they’re the AL champions because Verlander was the biggest reason Houston beat the Yanks in the last year’s ALCS.

With Verlander, the Yankees probably beat the Dodgers in the World Series, too.

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Girardi still manager?

Maybe Joe Girardi isn’t pushed out of the manager seat if the Yankees win it all in 2017.

The guess here is Yankees GM Brian Cashman made up his mind before last October that he was making a change no matter what after 10 seasons of Girardi, but don’t you think it would have been a lot harder to cut ties after they traveled down Broadway together in a World Series parade?

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Brad Penner | USA TODAY Sports

No Stanton

For sure - we think! - the Yankees wouldn’t have traded for Giancarlo Stanton last winter after striking out in their pursuit of Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani.

With Verlander on the payroll for this year at $20 million, the Yanks surely wouldn’t have been able to add Stanton’s salary and still get under $197 payroll threshold when he practically fell into their laps.

The Yankees took on the biggest contract in baseball history when dealing for Stanton after his 59-homer, NL MVP season, but 40 percent of the $25 million that he’s making this year was absorbed with second baseman Starlin Castro and the $10 million that he’s making in 2018 going to Miami in the deal.

It would be interesting to know whom Yankees fans would rather have now for the long haul, Stanton or Verlander.

The guess here is Verlander would win a vote and it wouldn’t be close.

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Kathy Willens | AP

Spot for Frazier

Clint Frazier is a hard-hitting, enthusiastic young outfield talent who is playing in Triple-A because the Yankees have no spot for him.

If Justin Verlander coming in a trade to the Yankees last August would have led to Giancarlo Stanton being moved somewhere else (or staying in Miami) last winter, then Frazier might be on the big club now getting regular at-bats as a starting designated hitter and fill-in left fielder for Brett Gardner.

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Daniel A. Varela | Miami Herald | TNS

Castro's on 2nd

Starlin Castro probably would still be the Yankees’ starting second baseman with Verlander aboard because he couldn’t have been a part of trade to Miami that never would have happened.

The Yankees possibly could have moved Castro in a salary dump somewhere else, but it seems more likely he’d still be on the club if Verlander was aboard.

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Bill Kostroun | AP

Gleyber on third?

Gleyber Torres played a lot of third base in April before his call-up from Triple-A, and if Verlander was around, we’re going to guess the rookie would be in the big leagues now looking like a rising star playing third instead of second.

What about Miguel Andujar?

Well, Andujar perhaps would have been moved to Detroit in the Verlander trade or he’d still be in Triple-A.

Brandon Drury?

The Yankees still very well may have dealt for Drury in spring training to give them a veteran presence at third.

Here’s another possibility: Starlin Castro may have been moved to third base this past spring so that Torres and Tyler Wade could fight it out in spring training for the starting job at second.

Either way, it’s obvious that Torres would have played his way to the big leagues by now no matter where he was in the field.

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Raymond Carlin III | USA TODAY Sports

CC out of mix?

If Justin Verlander had joined the Yankees last year, this move may have prevented left-hander CC Sabathia from returning over the winter as a free agent even though he signed for just one year at $10 million.

The $20 million that the Yankees would be paying of Verlander’s $28 million salary, plus the $10 million that they’d still be paying Starlin Castro and Sabathia’s $10 million adds up to $40 million.

The Yankees are paying $35 million this year for Stanton ($25M) and Sabathia. It’s only a $5 million difference, but the Yanks already are close enough the $197 million luxury tax threshold now, so $5 million is a lot to the franchise in this very different budget year.

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Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.