BOCA RATON, Fla. — They are the Yankees. They are going to have a $240 million-ish payroll again in 2016. They are going to have Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira. They are going to have their history. They are going to have their fan base. They are going to have a Steinbrenner in ownership.

Add all of that up and it means the Yankees will be playing to win it all in 2016.

But as much as any time since George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees in 1973 — and perhaps more — they play for the future.

Hal Steinbrenner, as much as anyone in the organization, has fretted that throwing money at every problem not only swells the payroll, but bloats the roster with expensive, aging players who bore fans and threaten long-term winning. He has tightened Brian Cashman’s budget, but widened the latitude with which the general manager could pursue pieces that make sense beyond the horizon of today.

And often what makes sense for the Yankees these days is to add players who, at minimum, are young, inexpensive complementary pieces, but have pedigrees to suggest they have not yet reached their ceilings. Nathan Eovaldi, Didi Gregorius and Dustin Ackley all fit those criteria, and now so too does Aaron Hicks, whom the Yankees obtained Wednesday from the Twins for John Ryan Murphy.

At minimum, Hicks is a less expensive, better defensive version of lefty-mashing Chris Young. But Cashman said of the switch-hitter: “We think Aaron Hicks is an everyday player.”

If he is that, then the Yankees have put another long-term piece in place where there was none 12 months ago. Gregorius now looks like a solution at shortstop. Greg Bird appears a viable successor to Teixeira at first base. Cashman believes catcher Gary Sanchez and right fielder Aaron Judge will soon be above-average major league regulars. It may not be Core Four level, but you could see the potential for the next good Yankees nucleus, where not too long ago you couldn’t even dream about it.

It is difficult — even with a thick wallet — to honor a championship-or-bust credo while also protecting the future. With stricter drug testing, older players have become worse long-term bets. The Mets and Royals were no payroll darlings, but they were the World Series competitors.

In fact, you can see the Yankees playing follow the leader with the two-time AL champs. Last offseason, the Yankees attempted to imitate the Royals by building a power-armed late-game bullpen. And I am sure the Yankees imagine Gregorius-Hicks as a version of the defensively brilliant Alcides Escobar-Lorenzo Cain combo.

Remember Cain was a late bloomer, his baseball skills eventually catching up to his quick-twitch brilliance. Hicks showed signs of that this year. Once the 14th pick in the 2008 draft, Hicks was rushed to the majors in 2013 after a strong spring training and sputtered horribly.

He did not begin to get his game back until 2015 with 11 homers (eight in the second half), 13 steals and a .721 OPS in 97 games to go with above-average defense. Hicks’ agent, Joe Urbon, said “no question” his client benefitted from Torii Hunter’s daily presence/wisdom. Cashman believes the veteran infrastructure that helped get the best of Gregorius to emerge will provide the same for Hicks.

At worst, Hicks was a guy with an .870 OPS vs. lefties last year, so he will replace Young. At best, you have a 26-year-old switch-hitting center fielder who is entering his prime and not yet even arbitration-eligible. Gregorius turns 26 in February. Ackley, once the second pick in the draft, turns 28 in February.

And the Hicks acquisition could further the youth movement. As The Post reported in Tuesday’s papers, the Yankees have talked about Brett Gardner with the Mariners, among others. They would prefer to trade Jacoby Ellsbury, but because he is more brittle and expensive, the Yankees are looking into what they could get for Gardner. They want to use him to get cost-controlled starting pitching because the lack of that in the near future is as problematic as the lack of future position players was 12 to 18 months ago.

As he showed in trading Francisco Cervelli (to Pittsburgh for Justin Wilson) last year and Murphy now, Cashman trades from surplus. Sanchez moves behind Brian McCann. With Hicks joining Ellsbury, Slade Heathcott, Mason Williams, Jake Cave, Ben Gamel and Dustin Fowler, the Yankees have lefty-swinging athletic outfielders ready or near ready to potentially offset the loss of Gardner.

Gardner is an above-average player and team leader. But he is 32 and signed through 35 for $39 more million at a time when the Yankees are trying to reallocate resources and get younger.

The presence of Gregorius in the majors and a bevy of shortstop prospects below means the well-regarded Jorge Mateo also is a piece Cashman could use to find starting pitching.

Those would be starters who could help in 2016 — and beyond. These are the Yankees, as always trying to win now, but without losing the future.