Because Shohei Ohtani won’t break even the smallest market club’s budget, the two-way Japanese star’s decision to sign with a MLB club isn’t strangling the free agent signing season that is expected to pick up this coming week.

However, when it comes to the Yankees a crowded rotation would become thicker if the 23-year-old right-handed pitcher/left-handed hitting outfielder decides he wants to dance on the biggest stage in baseball.

And while having six effective starters for five spots is often considered a “nice problem’’ it involves a lot more than every pitcher simply throwing with five days rest instead of the customary four.

At some point before Christmas, Ohtani will belong to a major league club and the consensus throughout the industry is the Yankees are the favorite to land the 6-foot-4, 214-pounder who wants to hit and pitch in the big leagues.

Earlier this week a scout compared Ohtani to Justin Verlander and predicted if the Yankees sign him he would be the Yankees’ ace from the first day in pinstripes.

So even though they won’t have to lay out more than a $3.5 million signing bonus and the $20 million posting fee (which doesn’t count against the luxury tax threshold), the Yankees wouldn’t ask Ohtani to compete for a rotation spot.

What adding Ohtani to the rotation could do is squeeze free agent CC Sabathia out of The Bronx following his best season since 2012.

Ohtani would join Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery in the Yankees’ rotation. Where would that leave the 37-year-old Sabathia who was 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA in 27 starts this past season and 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in four post-season starts?

During the season Sabathia said remaining a Yankee was his first choice. But that was before the Ohtani situation remained foggy because of the posting process which is now very clear: the Nippon Ham Fighters will post Ohtani on Dec. 1 or 2. He then has 21 days to decide on a team who will sign Ohtani to a minor league deal and pay him the major league minimum when he joins a big league roster.

Could the Yankees use a six-man rotation? Former manager Joe Girardi often countered that suggestion when the subject was Tanaka, who pitched on five days rest in Japan.

“It affects more than more than just one guy,’’ Girardi would correctly explain.

Yet, the scout’s lone reservation about Ohtani was health-related.

“The only question mark is his durability,’’ the scout said of Ohtani who pitched in just five games and hit in 65 this past season due to thigh and ankle injuries. “They could pitch him every sixth day, once a week and then he would be strong for the playoffs.’’

Yet, how would a six-man rotation sit with Gray, Severino, Montgomery and Sabathia?

Of course, Montgomery has options and could open the 2018 season at SWB (Triple-A) after going 9-7 with a very respectable 3.88 ERA in 29 starts as a rookie this past year.

Sabathia, who never barked about extra rest which has to help the right knee, is 78-45 with a 3.53 ERA in 158 games starting with five days of rest. He is 127-81 with a 3.74 ERA in 278 starts on four days rest. This past season Sabathia was 5-2 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 starts on five days rest and 4-1 with a 4.15 ERA in eight games with four days off.

Gray has started 42 games on five days rest and is 18-12 with a 3.39 ERA. In 65 games on four days rest, he is 24-26 with a 3.74 ERA. This year he was 4-3 with a 5.71 ERA in nine starts on five days rest, and 5-6 with a 4.12 ERA in 14 games on regular rest.

Severino clearly is more effective with five days off. In 21 career games that way, he is 10-3 with a 3.10 ERA compared to 6-9 with a 4.53 ERA in 20 games without the extra day. In 2017, he was 8-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 14 starts with five days off and 4-4 with a 3.04 ERA with four.

Tanaka has made 51 starts with five days of rest and is 26-14 with a 3.56 ERA. On four days rest he is 15-10 with a 3.46 ERA in 35 starts. This past season he was more effective on four days rest than five since he went 5-3 with a 4.04 ERA in eight games with four days rest and 5-6 with a 5.21 ERA with more down time between starts.

Montgomery was 5-4 with a 3.64 ERA in 13 games on five days rest and 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 games with four days off.