MINNEAPOLIS — The reactions when the Yankees signed Brett Gardner and DJ LeMahieu and traded for Edwin Encarnacion were quite similar.

“Why?” Or: “Where is (fill-in-the-blank) going to play and/or get at-bats?”

It emphasizes a shift in Yankee philosophy that has served them well, from overpay to overstock.

The only significant contract the Yankees have absorbed in the past five years belongs to Giancarlo Stanton, and it is the one they regret the most.

The Yankee strategy has literally become to spread the wealth. They have turned away from George Steinbrenner’s ethos of paying stars lucrative and long term resulting in top-heavy rosters. Overkill and overstuff works better now when injured lists are used more than ever, workload management results in mandated rest for regulars, analytics can define specific roles that create advantages and the best lineups go with quality not just 1-though-8-or-9, but 1-through-12-or-13 with benches included.

The key is to use payroll to avoid letting anyone hit (or pitch) who does not actually belong in the major leagues. Consider that the four biggest contracts awarded last offseason went to Bryce Harper (Phillies) and Manny Machado (Padres) in free agency and Mike Trout (Angels) and Nolan Arenado (Rockies) on extensions. None of those teams made the playoffs.

The coastal superpowers — the Yankees and Dodgers — were, in particular, questioned for not going further for Harper (Los Angeles was willing to do big money on a short-team deal, the Yanks not even that). But these days the behemoths follow a similar blueprint, emphasizing the long roster over a single big payday that threatens payroll and personnel maneuverability, particularly in the future.

The lively ball actually contributes to adhering to this strategy, adding yet another factor hurting free agent position players. Because if every Tom, Dick and Urshela can now get the ball out of the ballpark, then why pay for someone whose asset is power? The Yankees reached 306 homers with Stanton hitting three in 2019. Stanton had the second most homers from 2011-18.

For the Yankees to get fuller value from Stanton, MLB will have to follow through on its pledge to deaden the current ball at least somewhat — perhaps with humidors installed in each park. Because if the game returns to where actual home run hitters will be the guys that hit the bulk of the homers, then the gap grows between Stanton and others when it comes to power. His name would mean more in a lineup.

It, therefore, behooves the Players Association to create urgency in getting MLB to make a decision in this area or else organizations will have yet another reason not to spend in the free agent market, in this case on high-end power. Of course, teams will then likely say they need a year to watch and determine the impact of any changes to the baseball, which will probably result in more tinkering and gauging the following year.

Until then, this Yankees policy is best. Depth was their life jacket in a season in which they incurred 39 injured-list stints involving an MLB-record 30 players. LeMahieu, Gardner and Encarnacion were not luxuries. They were instrumental. They are hitting 1-3-4 in the Yankees’ postseason lineup.

“You ask how does this fit short and long term on the roster on every decision,” said Tim Naehring, the Yankees’ VP of baseball operations. “It comes down to this: If we have an opportunity to acquire talent that we believe makes us better and it fits financially and the at-bats will be there, then the organization is going to try to upgrade.”

This is pretty much a must in an environment in which a record 182 players with at least 200 plate appearances produced an OPS better than MLB average factoring for park and league. That averages to roughly six per team. The Twins had the most ever with 13. The Yanks were tied for third ever with 11.

You might have noticed they are playing each other in a Division Series in which LeMahieu, Gardner and Encarnacion have combined for eight of the team’s 16 RBIs and six of their eight extra-base hits through two winning games.

Overkill works.