The Yankees are at mile 22 of the 26-mile rebuild marathon. They should finish that race.

If Hal Steinbrenner were providing both unlimited funds and approval of trading the best prospects then, sure, sign Aroldis Chapman and Edwin Encarnacion and trade whatever is necessary for Chris Sale. But the Yankees owner is not providing that combination.

Steinbrenner still wants to lower the Yankees’ payroll with an eye on getting under whatever the luxury-tax threshold will be in a new collective bargaining agreement, and he wants to see the elite of what might now be the majors’ best farm system get a shot with the Yankees.

So if those are the rules, then I think what the Yankees should do is try to get in as dominating a position as possible for next offseason. Translation: Have the strengths that are most valuable for a team now, notably lots of top prospects, lots of available cash and roster flexibility.

This does not preclude the Yankees contending in 2017. They have done well the past few years doing relevance and rebuilding, and avoiding — upon Steinbrenner’s insistence — the Astros/Cubs model of a complete teardown. That is why the past July trades were so vital. Without the complete renovation, the Yankees did not have the top-five picks that bring cost-controlled difference makers such as Kris Bryant and Carlos Correa.

So, they used particularly Chapman and Andrew Miller to replicate something like high picks by obtaining Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier and Justus Sheffield to augment what already was perceived as a strong base of prospects.

I think they need one more year to A) let the prospects grow both in the majors and minors to get a greater understanding of exactly what they need, and B) clear more money.

Let’s look at both items:

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A) I have big questions about Aaron Judge. I wonder if a player of his size can succeed. He turns 25 next April, making him older than Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. But I also know that before he ever took a major league swing, Yankees officials were saying he was the type who was going to need, say, 1,000 apprenticeship plate appearances to potentially max out as about a .260 hitter with 30-plus homers. He has just 95. Do you want to make a judgment on 95?

This is about patience. Most players are not Gary Sanchez, stars from the outset. A year from now the Yankees should have a much better idea of what Judge, Sanchez, Greg Bird, Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Bryan Mitchell and Luis Severino can do in the majors. Plus, a group that includes Torres, Frazier, Sheffield, Chance Adams, Miguel Andujar, James Kaprielian and Jorge Mateo should have further declared themselves, with a few possibly having pushed to the majors.

Big-market clubs such as the Cubs (Jason Heyward, John Lackey, Ben Zobrist) and Red Sox (Craig Kimbrel, David Price) pushed aggressively to address areas of need last offseason, but only once they had a young core that showed it was ready to win. The Yankees need to push closer to that mode. They should be in a go-for-it mindset only when a championship is more probable.

B) Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabathia come off the payroll after the 2017 season. That and the removal of most of Brian McCann’s salary currently have the Yankees with just $84 million committed toward the luxury-tax payroll in 2018. That includes Masahiro Tanaka, who can opt out of his deal. They would be facing just one arbitration hearing of meaning, for Didi Gregorius.

The contracts of Brett Gardner and Chase Headley expire after the 2018 season.

Thus, over the next two offseasons — when Shohei Otani, Harper, Machado and Josh Donaldson are expected to be free — the Yankees arguably would be in the most financially advantageous position.

So what does this mean for 2017? I think it means forming as strong a bullpen as possible and finding the best one-year hitter on the market, so think of it as perhaps signing Chapman and Carlos Beltran, plus trading for someone such as the Padres’ Brad Hand or the White Sox’s Nate Jones.

A strong pen would help protect a rotation filled with veteran physical red flags such as Tanaka, Michael Pineda and Sabathia, and youngsters such as Cessa, Green, Mitchell and Severino. Thus, it provides a way for the Yankees to win now, protect assets and better help develop the youngsters.

The Yankees recognize that both the free-agent and trade markets are flooded with bats, which is why they have checked in on even big players such as Jose Bautista and Encarnacion. Just in case the market crashes and there are deals to be had, the Yankees want to be in position to capitalize.

But a one-year play on someone like Beltran would add a significant bat and mentor without blocking future playing time or gumming up future payrolls.

If this group is contending in July, then here is an advocacy vote for using the farm system then — when you know a lot more about its contents — to fix the team. If not, then use it as one more chance to bulk up the system/lessen payroll by marketing Pineda, Sabathia, even Tanaka, Gardner, Headley, Starlin Castro and, if anyone is interested, Jacoby Ellsbury.

At that point, the Yankees would have completed the marathon of mostly turning over the roster, thinning the payroll and thickening the farm system. I think they need one more year of patience to get fully there.