It’s less a problem and more a dilemma. And for a third straight year, it’s one the Yankees are thankful to have.

Between August and December 2016, the Yankees traded outfielder Ben Gamel and relievers James Pazos and Nick Goody. Last year, it was shipping off intriguing, if not star, prospects such as Zack Littell, Ian Clarkin, Dietrich Enns and Rob Refsnyder. Some of these were on the 40-man roster, others were vulnerable to being lost in the Rule 5 draft.

Yet again, the Yankees have a jammed 40-man roster, enticing prospects who could be lost to the draft and a hole to fill in the lineup. There are trades coming, and not just a significant one to shore up the staff. The Yankees can’t protect everyone from the Rule 5 draft by placing them on the 40-man roster, and general manger Brian Cashman has shown a willingness to act early to solve the roster issues.

The Yankees have more than 60 prospects who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft this year. Among those almost certain to wedge their way onto the 40-man are Triple-A pitchers Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is teeming with impressive, hard-throwing pitchers who would be vulnerable if not protected, including Cody Carroll (46 strikeouts in 38 ²/₃ innings), Nestor Cortes Jr. (3.43 ERA with SWB), Raynel Espinal (57 strikeouts in 43 innings) and J.P. Feyereisen (1.64 ERA in 44 innings).

However, the most interesting choice for the Yankees to make may reside in Double-A Trenton. Dillon Tate, the No. 4-overall pick of the 2015 amateur draft, is reclaiming his top-prospect status. The Yankees bought low on the slightly built right-handed starter when they acquired him for Carlos Beltran in 2016, and he’s again looking like a high-end arm, ranked the team’s ninth-best prospect by MLB.com.

Tate went on the 10-day disabled list Sunday with a strained quad, which is not believed to be serious. He had been set to start the Eastern League All-Star Game after pitching to a 3.38 ERA with 75 strikeouts and 25 walks in 82 ²/₃ innings.

“Absolutely,” Double-A Altoona manager Michael Ryan said about whether he thought Tate would be susceptible to the Rule 5 draft. “You look at all the intangibles. He looks the part. The stuff is great. Absolutely a team would take a chance on him.

“All three pitches he has, they’re all above average,” Ryan said about Tate’s mid-90s fastball, slider and changeup. “You sit in the opposing dugout and you just admire the stuff.”

The Yankees are thinner with position-player prospects, with players such as fringy first basemen Mike Ford and Ryan McBroom and 2015 first-round pick Kyle Holder, a shortstop without a clear path to the majors, Rule 5 eligible.

Infielder Abiatal Avelino, though, is having a breakout year in Trenton and Scranton, batting .313 with 12 home runs and 21 steals while mainly playing shortstop. If the Yankees can’t clear a spot on the roster for him, he would become a trade candidate — or else he would be a prime candidate to be lost in the draft.

“Everything he does on the field sticks out,” Ryan said about the 23-year-old from the Dominican Republic. “He can do everything — the arm strength, he’s got all the tools. … He can do special things in the field.”

In last year’s Rule 5 draft, the Yankees lost Cortes (Orioles), Ford (Mariners), Anyelo Gomez (Braves) and right-hander Jose Mesa Jr.; only Cortes made it to Opening Day on the big-league roster, and all four eventually were returned to the Yankees. The four, the most lost by any team, were evidence both of the Yankees’ organizational riches and shrewd roster manipulation; while some were taken, the top jewels were safe.

This year’s decision time is nearing.