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Another year, another early playoff exit.

This one feels a little different, as not only could the Yankees not catch the small-payroll Rays in the AL East, they were swept out of the ALDS by their divisional foes. Their World Series title drought is now 17 years — the longest stretch since the Yankees won their first championship in 1923.

Now, they head into an especially uncertain offseason — for both themselves and the sport.

And in his closing comments after Wednesday’s loss, their most important player — Aaron Judge — had a message for the front office: “We’re the Yankees. I feel like they should go all-in and do what they need to do and if we’ve got holes, it’s finding certain players or personnel, whatever we need, we’ve got to go out there and get it.’’ 

Complicating matters is the fact that MLB is almost certainly going to face another lockout when the collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1 and there are fears that it may last deep into next year, with the landscape of the game potentially changing significantly, as the owners seek to implement a salary cap.

With all that in mind, here’s a look at some of the key decisions the Yankees have to consider:

Leadership

The most important issues the Yankees face this offseason are at the top: Does Hal Steinbrenner want general manager Brian Cashman to continue to lead baseball operations? And if Cashman does return, does the longtime executive want to keep Aaron Boone as manager with one year remaining on Boone’s deal?

Cashman endorsed Boone before the Yankees’ season-ending loss to the Rays in Game 3 of the ALDS, saying, “I think Boone’s a really good manager. We’re here for a reason. There’s a lot of reasons behind that. And he’s certainly part of that.”

Boone, following the sweep, said he “of course” expected to return, adding, “Those conversations are for another day.”  

As for Cashman, the last time his contract ended, it wasn’t renewed until later in the offseason.

Free agent position players

The Yankees’ offense went cold in the ALDS without Judge — as well as for long stretches during the slugger’s absence during the regular season. 

Part of that was due to down seasons from Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Trent Grisham.

Grisham is almost certainly a goner, with his production with both his bat and glove deteriorating this season after getting the qualifying offer last offseason.

Chisholm is eligible for the qualifying offer, but it seems increasingly unlikely the Yankees give it to the second baseman, who followed up a breakout year with a rough one filled with mistakes.

Chisholm didn’t start against right-hander Nick Martinez in the clincher, another bad sign for the lefty-swinging infielder.

Veteran bats Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario will also be free agents.

Goldschmidt was valuable as a righty-hitting option at first base and could return under the right circumstances, but Rosario played poorly all season.

Free agent pitchers

The strength of the Yankees, their starting rotation, should remain largely intact, but the bullpen is another matter.

Closer David Bednar is set to hit the open market and is coming off a strong season in The Bronx. He figures to be at or near the top of the list when it comes to who the Yankees look to retain.

Blackburn emerged as a key, late-inning right-handed arm after resigning with the Yankees last offseason, who value his ability to pitch in high-leverage situations. 

Lefties Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough have provided valuable innings over the years in The Bronx, while John Schreiber and Michael Fulmer, two late-season signings, will also be back on the market.

Who’s on first?

As we look towards 2027, the only spot in which the Yankees are set in the infield is at shortstop, where George Lombard Jr. appears ready to stick for years to come defensive miscues notwithstanding.

The Yankees could go with Luis García Jr. at first base, but they may also want to open that spot for Ben Rice if Giancarlo Stanton is able to stay healthy and can serve as the DH. Either way, they’ll look to make a change at second, since García can’t play there every day.

Could that be Anthony Volpe, who breathed new life into his career after losing his shortstop job to Lombard, or do they look to sign someone like oft-mentioned target Luis Arraez?

Moving around the diamond brings us to third base, where Ryan McMahon took a big step back with his defense — which was his calling card when he was acquired from the Rockies in 2025. He was also benched against a righty in the postseason, but is owed $16 million next season.

And back to Stanton, what can the Yankees expect from the injury-prone DH who missed almost the entire year with calf injuries?

Their outfield situation appears to be more set, with the always reliable Cody Bellinger in left and perhaps Spencer Jones as the answer in center.

But Heliot Ramos was a huge disappointment after coming over from San Francisco at the deadline and another year has passed and Jasson Domínguez still hasn’t proven he’s an everyday player, leaving his future with the organization in doubt.

Of course, Judge has to stay healthy for any of their roster moves to matter. 

The Yankees overcame his absence to get to the postseason, but they were no match for Tampa Bay without him and clearly aren’t a World Series threat unless he’s in the lineup.

Catching up

The Yankees looked into upgrading the catching spot at the trade deadline, but ultimately stayed with Austin Wells, who was among the worst hitters in the game in the first half of the season. 

He steadied himself at the plate after the All-Star break and was one of the few bats that did anything against the Rays, but they need some help in the area.

They pursued Ryan Jeffers from the Twins at the trade deadline, but he stayed in Minnesota. Perhaps they look to him again in free agency.

Making a pitch

While the rotation is in good shape with Cy Young favorite Cam Schlitter, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Will Warren all healthy — along with Ryan Weathers and perhaps Clarke Schmidt — there are plenty of questions about the pen.

They could look at Raisel Iglesias, the Atlanta closer that has long intrigued the Yankees, although he turns 37 in January. 

Adrián Morejón, the left-hander the Yankees looked into at the deadline before he stayed in San Diego, is also a free agent.

And then there’s hard-throwing Carlos Lagrange, the fireballing righty the Yankees hoped might provide innings out of the pen, but was unable to recover from a shoulder injury in time to make his debut. 

The Yankees might prefer this news doesn’t spread.

Video emerged from the visitors’ clubhouse on Wednesday night, after the Rays finished their sweep of the Bronx Bombers in Game 3 of their ALDS series, of the winning team singing along to Frank Sinatra’s “(Theme From) New York, New York.”

The Rays, arm-in-arm, with beer showering over them, added one final insult to the Yankees’ playoff injury on their home turf, where they play the quintessential New York tune after wins.

The end of the 3-0 sweep also saw Tampa Bay star Junior Caminero mime a broom while he celebrated on the field, with the third baseman later mimicking former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz’s catchphrase, “Da Yankees lose!”

Invoking a Red Sox legend in this instance is a fitting choice.

Boston famously used the Sinatra classic as a rally point en route to their 2018 World Series title, after Aaron Judge played the tune while walking past the Red Sox clubhouse on his way out of Fenway Park after an ALDS win.

It came back to bite him when Boston blared “(Theme From) New York, New York” after defeating the Yankees in four games — and then again after they defeated the Dodgers to win it all.

Judge later told The Post he had “no regrets” about his decision.

The Yankees captain, who missed the entire playoff run with a calf injury, is once again left watching another AL East team march on. It’s a feeling he’s not going to let himself move on from.

“Just hating every single moment of it,” Judge said of his thoughts when he was sitting in the dugout as the series came to a close. “So I don’t forget it. I was thinking of missed opportunities this season and this series.”

SAN DIEGO — Major League Baseball proposed to the players union Thursday that the regular season be reduced from 162 games to 154 games for the first time since 1960, with teams also playing four split-doubleheaders during the season, ending the season a week earlier than normal.

The reduced schedule, which would provide virtually each team an off day every Monday except for holidays and special events, would begin in 2029 to coincide with MLB’s new national TV package. 

MLB, while wanting to lengthen the division series from a best-of-five to a best-of-seven format (which would potentially add eight games to the postseason), also is proposing once again that the highest-seeded teams in the postseason can choose their playoff opponent. It is similar to the same proposal during their 2021 negotiations when it tried to expand the playoff field to 14 teams, but the union refused because it believed it would promote mediocrity, and they settled on a 12-team playoff pool.

ATLANTA — Usually, booze-soaked clubhouse celebrations are not the time to inquire about potential changes to the lineup.

But when one potential change might have to do with Shohei Ohtani — the Dodgers’ biggest star and most troublesome question mark so far this postseason — then an exception on Wednesday night was warranted.

Yes, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was indeed asked after the team’s Game 4 elimination of the Braves if they were considering benching the slumping slugger after his injury-plagued struggles continued in the National League Division Series.

And while, no, Friedman made clear such drastic measures aren’t on the table, the fact that speculation is even swirling only underscores the tenuous nature of Ohtani’s current situation.

“At some point, it’s going to click for him,” Friedman insisted. “And the other team’s going to be in big trouble when that happens.”

For now, that feels more like wishful thinking for the Dodgers and their $700 million conundrum.

In the NLDS, Ohtani still looked nothing like himself while continuing to play through right arm and left knee problems.

During the four games against the Braves, Ohtani went 2-for-13 with two walks, four strikeouts and a glaring lack of threatening at-bats. He was dropped to fifth in the batting order for Game 3, then moved only to the cleanup spot in the team’s series-clinching Game 4 triumph.

The 32-year-old made a positive impact on Wednesday, drawing a first-inning walk and then scoring after stealing second base and taking third on an errant throw.

After that, however, he struck out, grounded out and watched a fly ball die at the warning track. As a result, he finished the NLDS with a .154 average, second lowest among Dodgers regulars ahead of only Will Smith.

Now, two questions will linger as the Dodgers take their next step in this postseason:

Can Ohtani turn things around?

Can the team still win if he doesn’t?

The former seems much more difficult to answer, with repeated votes of confidence from team officials thus far having yet to materialize in consistent production from the four-time MVP.

After Game 3, manager Dave Roberts was adamant that Ohtani is “going to come to life — it will happen.” When asked the following afternoon what fueled such conviction, though, the answer felt more like a manifestation rather than clear and tangible signs of progress at the plate.

“The misses are better … because they’re to the big part of the field versus hitting a ball on the ground to the right side of the infield,” Roberts insisted. 

“I thought the intent to stay on the baseball was better than it was in Games 1 and 2. So that’s also encouraging,” he added.

But really, Roberts continued, his belief was based on his star hitter’s track record and penchant for catching fire even when it is least expected.

“I feel that just the talent, the care [that he has], it’s going to happen,” Roberts insisted.

Yet, when the skipper returned to the podium after Game 4, he — like Friedman — was back to answering questions about why it hasn’t happened yet.

“He’s scuffling right now, but I really believe that he’s going to come to life at some point,” Roberts reiterated.

What Roberts said next might be more important, especially with the Dodgers entertaining no plans to drop him from the lineup for now.

“It’s just good to know that we can still win a series when he’s not doing what we all know he can do,” Roberts said.

Given how out of sorts Ohtani continues to look, the two-time defending champions might have to do so again in their NLCS matchup with a stingy Brewers pitching staff.

One silver lining: Ohtani was similarly ineffective in last year’s NLDS against the Phillies, going a woeful 1-for-18 with nine strikeouts in that series, before turning around and winning NLCS MVP honors in the team’s sweep of the Brewers, a four-game rout that was capped off by his iconic three-homer, 10-strikeout masterclass in a pennant-clinching Game 4 victory.

But back then, Ohtani was fully healthy, coming off a career-high 55-homer campaign and at full strength as both a hitter and pitcher.

This version of Ohtani offers no such hope of a similar turnaround. He hasn’t hit a home run since Aug. 18. He has just one RBI since then, as well, with his 15-day stint on the injured list in September having failed to rectify his physically diminished swing.

It means, moving forward, the Dodgers will need the rest of their lineup to keep picking up the slack.

They did so in the NLDS, when Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman combined for five home runs, Teoscar Hernández and Kiké Hernández delivered more clutch postseason moments, and almost everyone else from Mookie Betts to Andy Pages took competitive at-bats that kept opposing pitchers under stress.

Whether the team can continue to replicate that recipe might determine its fate in a bid for a third straight World Series title.

Because right now, despite the Dodgers’ adamant claims that Ohtani will eventually rebound this October, he looks incapable of being anything more than a complementary piece of their offense.

Despite what fans intially thought, Ronald Acuña Jr. denied taking a shot at his former Braves manager, Brian Snitker on his podcast “La Bestia” this week.

During Monday’s episode of the podcast with Brewers stars William Contreras and Jackson Chourio, the former asked Acuña in Spanish about the Braves’ coaches and seemed to point to how things have been in the first season without Snitker — though the catcher didn’t name the manager.

“All good bro. They didn’t bother me again. You know that c–ksucker thought he was the king,” Acuña responded as reported by Phillip Feliz, a known Spanish-to-English athlete translator on X.

On Wednesday night after the Braves were eliminated by the Dodgers in the NLDS, the outfielder told The Athletic he did not take a swipe at Snitker in that moment. He declined to name the coach he was speaking about.

“I’m not going to violate that code,” he said via an interpreter. “We were just talking about the past, even things all the way back to the minor leagues.”

Before Acuña finished his next sentence on the podcast, Contreras began to say, “El gerente,” a term that means “manager” in Spanish, but it’s specifically used for a general manager rather than the skipper of a team.

The interpretation led to intense speculation that Acuña’s comment was directed at Snitker. Many questioned Feliz’s translation and went after him online.

Feliz later posted a video defending his translation of the podcast clip, insinuating the Braves questioned him directly.

“I want to make something clear. My job on social media is not to care for any MLB team’s reputation. Want me to care for your reputation? Hire me. Any MLB team, hire me. Reach out to me,” Feliz said on Tuesday morning in a video on X. “If I do that willingly on the timeline, I chose to. It’s not because I’m getting paid to. If you want to question my translations when you don’t even speak the language, you’re a fool.

“You want to question my work on X and question whether I’m a Dodgers spy playing 3D chess because I decided to drop this clip ahead of Game 3 against the Dodgers? You know what’s far more interesting? The fact that Ronald Acuña Jr. himself decided to drop this episode on their off day. Look it up. Their podcast, ‘La Bestia,’ dropped less than 24 hours ago. It wasn’t I fetching for clips to drop, he handed me the clip. As far as me trying to tarnish the Braves’ reputation, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: I’m rooting for the Braves this series. F–k the Dodgers.

“If you want to question my work on X when my posts get global reach, I need to ensure I’m posting with accuracy. If you believe heart to heart that Ronald Acuña Jr. wasn’t talking about Brian Snitker, go watch the interview [and] come back to me. Go watch the extended clip that I posted [and] come back to me.”

Acuña and Snitker, who held the manager role in Atlanta from 2017-25, had some friction throughout their lengthy time together that included six division titles and a World Series in 2021.

On Aug. 18, 2019 when a 21-year-old Acuña hit a ball to the right field wall against the Dodgers, he didn’t run hard out of the batter’s box and it only resulted in a single.

A frustrated Snitker pulled him from the game.

Similarly in 2025, Jarred Kelenic admired a long ball and was thrown out at second base for trying to stretch the hit against the Twins. When asked if Snitker talked to Kelenic about the decision, he said “Was I supposed to?”

Acuña, 28, who was rehabbing a torn ACL at the time, took to X to comment on the situation in a since-deleted post.

He wrote: “If it were me, they would take me out of the game.”

He later apologized to the manager and his teammates, deeming it a “moment of frustration.”

Following the 2025 season in which the Braves missed the playoffs, Snitker stepped down and moved on to hold a senior advisory role within the organization. Walt Weiss, Snitker’s longtime bench coach, replaced him and tried to push the team past the Dodgers in the NLDS.

Acuña had a quiet postseason, going 3-for-24 through seven games with no home runs nor RBIs. He had an OPS of .425.

It follows a regular season in which he hit .255 with 20 home runs and 55 RBIs across 107 games.

He has not hit a home run in the postseason since the 2020 NLDS against the Marlins. Acuña did not play in the 2021 World Series due to a torn ACL.

Acuña premiered his podcast last month and he has since hosted his father, his cousin and WBC teammate Royals’ Maikel Garcia, and mentalist Michel Gallero on the show.