ATLANTA — If he wants to be a Yankee, Manny Machado had better hustle his way out of his memorable October musings.

At the Major League Baseball owners’ meetings on Wednesday, Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner acknowledged that Machado’s comments to The Athletic about his approach to the game were “troubling” and would have to be reconciled if the Yankees are to sign him.

“If it’s a $300 million guy or a $10 million guy, clearly those comments are troubling,” Steinbrenner told a small group of reporters. “But that’s really [general manager Brian Cashman’s] job. If we’re interested in any player, sit down with him face to face and ask him, ‘Where did this come from? What was the context around the entire interview? Was there a point you were trying to [make]? How do you justify it?

“Because that ain’t gonna sell where we play baseball. That conversation will happen no matter who it is.”

During the National League Championship Series, as Machado drew criticism for not running hard while playing for the Dodgers, the infielder said: “Obviously I’m not going to change, I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle,’ and run down the line and slide to first base and … you know, whatever can happen. That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am.”

The Yankees are looking at Machado partly because shortstop Didi Gregorius will miss the start of the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Asked whether it was important to make peace with Machado’s controversial comments, Steinbrenner responded, “It’s essential. It’s not [just] important. It’s going to happen.”

There’s more to the potential signing of Machado beyond merely answering for his answers. Namely:

1) Does Machado alleviate the Yankees’ primary roster concerns? Steinbrenner said: “We need to figure out where we need help, right? And start spending the money in that area before we spend it anywhere else.”

They need the most help, Steinbrenner asserted, with their starting rotation. Even after re-signing CC Sabathia last week, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman expressed a desire to get “multiple” additions to that unit. The Yankees are engaged with the agents for free-agent starters Patrick Corbin and J.A. Happ and have spoken with the Mariners about a James Paxton trade and really, they’ve very likely touched base on anyone you’ve envisioned putting on pinstripes.

Steinbrenner’s comments match what The Post’s Joel Sherman reported last week: If the Yankees sign Machado, it would likely be later rather than sooner, after they strengthen their rotation.

2) Is Steinbrenner willing to take his payroll back to its old heights? He acknowledged that after finally getting under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold in 2018, thereby resetting the club’s tax rates, less pressure exists to manage the payroll so precisely. Nevertheless, Steinbrenner added, getting under the threshold, which will increase to $206 million in 2019, is “a goal every year.”

“When we get near the threshold, if we’re where we need to be and I believe we truly have a championship-caliber team, then in all likelihood we’ll stay under,” Steinbrenner said. “But if I don’t … I’m going to keep adding pieces to get to where we need to be.”

As for Steinbrenner’s long-stated assertion that you don’t need a $200 million payroll to win a title, “Now I guess there’s one team that has,” he said, smiling, referring to the Red Sox and their $240-ish-million payroll that won them the 2018 crown. “It’s only one team. … It comes down to the player development system. … I think anything’s possible with payrolls that aren’t 250 to 300 million dollars.”

3) Does Steinbrenner have the stomach to dive back into the deep end of the pool after committing 10 years and $265 million to Giancarlo Stanton just last offseason?

“I don’t know that I’ve thought about it quite in those terms — ‘OK, it’ll be two instead of one’ — but I will be thinking about anything like that in the terms of, this is going to be a long-term deal with a lot of money,” Steinbrenner said. “Who is the person? How old are they? What are their abilities? What’s their injury history? Do we really need that particular position?

“… We leave no stone unturned.”

That includes consulting Machado’s mentor Alex Rodriguez, a Yankees adviser, Steinbrenner confirmed, as the failed trade for Sonny Gray shows how hard it still can be to project who can handle New York and who can’t.

“I wish that we could nail it every time. But I think it’s tough,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s got a skill set, Sonny. He’s going to succeed someday. I just don’t know where it’s going to be.”

Steinbrenner cautioned: “We’ve just begun this process. They’re still going through many players and many options and many possibilities.”

Some possibilities, however, feature larger pitfalls than other. The Yankees, their owner vowed, will look very carefully before they leap.