NEW YORK – There is a single standard for the New York Yankees, for whom the high expectations match the prices, which is what made their strategic pullback last summer so fascinating. Few clubs within range of the post-season are willing to withdraw in the two wild-card era, even if pulling the plug is justified, but Brian Cashman did precisely that without blinking.

“Listen, we’re about championships. You can see the flags all over for all the titles,” the general manager says pointing up to a full façade ringing the stands at Yankee Stadium. “We don’t hang wild cards up here. We don’t hang division titles up here. We hang the 27 championship titles around the ballpark.”

Cashman didn’t think his team had any realistic shot at a 28th last year, so with the Yankees at 50-48, only 4.5 games out of a wild-card berth, they traded closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for a package fronted by shortstop Gleybar Torres, now ranked by Baseball America as their top prospect.

A few days later they dealt Andrew Miller to Cleveland for a package highlighted by outfielder Clint Frazier, their No. 2 prospect according to BA, and lefty Justus Sheffield (No. 7). Carlos Beltran was flipped to Texas for three players including righty Dillon Tate (No. 15) and Ivan Nova was sent to Pittsburgh for two more minor-leaguers. Alex Rodriguez was released.

The dramatic repositioning was stunning.

“I definitely felt that we weren’t good enough. I felt that the way we had played through the middle of June was representative of a team that was going to go nowhere,” says Cashman. “Could we have somehow sneaked out a wild-card appearance? We could have. All that would have done to differentiate ourselves from everybody else that got sent home after 162 games is we would have played an 163rd game, and then we would have went home. It’s not worth it.

“We’re about trying to build toward a world champion trophy, so that’s how I make my recommendations.”

The transition continued into the off-season, when Brian McCann was sent to Houston for right-hander Albert Abreu, ranked by BA as their No. 9 prospect, and another minor-leaguer.

Cashman spent some Yankees-style money, too, re-signing Chapman as a free agent and adding veteran slugger Matt Holliday to help stabilize the lineup as the DH, but they remained committed to making themselves younger, to great effect so far.

Behind outfield sensation Aaron Judge, the 6-foot-7, 282-pound monster leading the majors with 13 homers, the Yankees are off to a 17-9 start, the precise inverse of where they were a year ago, and positioned to trend upwards with a younger nucleus and increased financial flexibility.

CC Sabathia comes off the books at the end of this season, when the Yankees have roughly $100 million in guarantees to six players. Brett Gardner and Chase Headley clear the season after that, leaving Masahiro Tanaka and Jacoby Ellsbury, both guaranteed through 2020, and Chapman, locked up through 2021 as their only pricey, long-term commitments.

“I wish we weren’t in the position we were in last year to have to make those tough calls, because that means things went bad. But you don’t want to double-down when things are going bad, in my opinion. That’s the position I took strongly with ownership and I’m glad they gave us the latitude to do what we did,” says Cashman.

“We just needed more. We needed to improve the foundation and relieve ourselves of some obligations at the same time, so move older players and the contracts committed to them, which makes room for younger players, gives us financial flexibility and then the prospects we get back, too. We’re adding to the foundation, which hopefully plays well for the future.”

While Judge has drawn most of the attention – you get the sense some in New York are already designing his plaque for Monument Park – he’s far from the only youngster making an impact.

Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery have helped deepen a rotation led by veterans Tanaka, Sabathia and Michael Pineda, another pending free agent. First baseman Greg Bird struggled before landing on the disabled list with a right ankle contusion, while phenom catcher Gary Sanchez is due to return from a biceps strain Friday. Tyler Austin fractured his ankle during the spring but is another interesting player.

Though experienced, Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius are emerging into core pieces as they enter their prime years while former first-rounder Aaron Hicks is rescuing a career that seemed to be on the rails.

Between those players, the sudden wealth of prospects underneath them and looming payroll space for the epic free-agent market of 2018-19, the Yankees are in position to build a team that can dominate for years.

“We’re excited about the trajectory we’re on but it doesn’t guarantee success,” says Cashman. “We have more work to do, more tough decisions to make, so there are still challenges ahead. But we’re in a better position today at this time than we were a year ago at this time. That’s all that matters. Every decision, you’re not going to bat 1.000, but the organizations that string together consistent quality decision-making processes bears out typically in the end, and backs your record and you have sustained success. We’re trying to do that.”

In the interim, Yankees fans seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach.

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A jarring sight during Monday’s 7-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays was a crowd of only 25,566, the smallest since the new Yankee Stadium opened in 2009, and the smallest in the Bronx since only 10,732 showed up Sept. 20, 2004 at the old Yankee Stadium.

Through 15 home dates, the Yankees have drawn 528,258 for an average of 35,217 – good for seventh in the majors and third in the American League, behind Toronto and the Angels. Still, judging their attendance isn’t relative – the Yankees charge big bucks and right now people are apparently reluctant to ante up.

That’s always a worry when a team repositions itself, but the team’s ownership didn’t let that stand in the way of what Cashman believes was the right thing to do.

“Our business is baseball and good baseball decisions will, in theory, translate into good business decisions. That’s how I look at it. But I’m the director of baseball operations, I’m the director of spending, so I’m not the director of making money, I don’t have anything to do with sponsorship. I just know that if we do a good job on the baseball ops side, than everyone else can maximize their potential on ticket sales, advertising, whatever,” says Cashman.

“It’s a sport and there’s no guarantee that we’re going to be successful. Sometimes the best-laid plans go awry. I think the smart organizations pivot when necessary. If they read the tea leaves properly, they can make some tough calls. You do what you have to do. It’s part of the process.”

A process that seems to have turned a team on the downswing back up again, with the promise of so much more still to come.