TORONTO — If Dallas Keuchel wants to be a Yankee, the left-handed starter will likely have to sign a one-year deal for a pro-rated qualifying offer that was $17.9 million.

As of now, the Yankees’ preference is to keep the offer to a one-year pact, covering the rest of the 2019 season. Keuchel, 31, previously rejected that offer from the Astros and became a free agent in a market that was slow-moving and top-heavy with Manny Machado (10 years, $300 million) and Bryce Harper (13 years, $330 million) landing mega-deals.

The Yankees have been in on Keuchel for a while and have scouted his workouts in California. Like other teams, the Yankees didn’t sign Keuchel before the draft because they would have had to give up a draft pick as compensation. When the draft started on Monday, that compensation was deleted.

Since winning the AL Cy Young in 2015, when he went 20-8 with a 2.48 ERA and worked 232 innings in 33 starts, Keuchel hasn’t been as dominant. In 83 games in the past three seasons, he went 35-28 with a 3.77 ERA.

The Yankees enter Tuesday night’s game against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre with a 2½-game lead over the second-place Rays and are 8½ lengths ahead of the third-place Red Sox.

Their rotation has played a part in them being 38-20 and has posted a 3.82 ERA. However, there are question marks.

Former staff ace Luis Severino hasn’t pitched yet this season and nobody can predict when he will. Domingo German, the staff leader with nine wins, has been shaky the last two outings and faces an innings limit at some point. James Paxton has been on the IL eight times since 2014 and recently came off the shelf. CC Sabathia has been on the IL twice this year.

If Keuchel signs with the Yankees and health issues don’t surface with any of the current starters, it’s not out of the question that German would be shifted to the bullpen and work as a long reliever/middle reliever, which is a role many see as being in his future.

Keuchel is certainly the best of what is available now for clubs like the Braves and Yankees when it comes to acquiring starters. The Blue Jays are expected to listen to trade offers for Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. Ditto the Royals on Danny Duffy and the Giants on Madison Bumgarner.