Does the signing of Brett Gardner imply that THE TRANSFORMATION of Food Stamps Hal Steinbrenner has begun?

It's hard to process yesterday's redemptive re-signing of Brett Gardner. It didn't surprise anyone. But its impact on 2019, and how Cooperstown Cashman plans to reshuffle the Titanic deck chairs, is hard to gauge. For example...

Was this born of secretive, front office analytics, or is it a personal, self-indulgent call by the Son of George? If it's the latter, it's one of the first in recent years by our own Crown Prince Bone Saw - "Food Stamps Hal" - whose prime directive has been to cut payroll and turn the franchise into a Bitcoin mine. If Hal intervened on Gardy's behalf - like Zeus in an ancient homoerotic Greek play - it could be a sign of... THE TRANSFORMATION. 

This we know: Whatever Hal has been doing - with his goat yoga classes and organic kale diet - it won't last. Eventually, he will become his dad - an impetuous, mouth-farting lump of obesity who devours front offices the way Trump does news cycles. That full moon transformation could be years off, and if we're lucky, we'll all be dead. But it will happen. It always does. The real question is, when Hal finally turns into Old George, will the Yankees still be clinging to their last, tattered championship flag... from 2009?

One outgrowth from being stomped shitless by Boston two weeks ago was the sense across the Yankiverse that it would provoke Hal into a spending tsunami - maybe another free agent threesome, similar to 2009 (Tex, CC, AJ) and 2014 (Ellsbury, Beltran, McCann). In our dreams, we imagined Harper, Machado and Kershaw, which does have a nice cadence, no? But such a move would look better on the back pages than the roster. In fact, it would destroy team balance, forcing a secondary flurry of trades. Do we trust a full Cashman makeover?

So... could Gardy's return imply a more calculated, surgical strategy? Despite his horrible 2018, Gardner does fill a roster need: He bats left, plays CF in a pinch, can steal a base, doesn't swing for the fences every at bat, and he can work a pitch count. If he can rebound next season - .280, 15 HRs, 20 steals - he is exactly what the Yankees need. (Ellsbury, with a bad hip, is less likely to bring anything. They should showcase him in spring training, generate happy talk and hope some team takes a flier.)

Rather than shooting money out of a confetti cannon, are the Yankees adopting a tight strategy for 2019? That could mean:

1) Finding a cheap, stopgap SS or 2B, somebody who fills in until Didi returns. (In simple terms, no Manny.) 

2) Welcoming the next wave of youngsters. Clint Frazier in the outfield. Tyler Wade as utility man. Justus Shefield in the rotation. Another chance for Chance Adams. The best hard-throwers from Team Scranton, the Hellers, Tarpleys and Feyereisens, one of whom might stick. (In simple terms, no Bryce.)

3. Letting Bird and Voit hold first base, at least through spring training.

4) Spend on pitching, pitching, pitching. Corbin from Arizona. Happ from our own backyard. Keuchel from Houston. David Robinson and Zach Britton for the bullpen. Spend bigly on arms, and don't tinker with the offense. (Hell, if the big boys don't hit, we're dead anyway.)

Is that a plan? Dunno. But I do believe this: Everything hinges on the whims of our Crown Prince Bone Saw. Once upon a time, Hal overruled Cashman to sign Rafael Soriano, the closer. He also made the sign-offs on Ellsbury and company - and for letting Yoan Moncada go to Boston (who turned him into Chris Sale.) Did Hal order the signing of Brett Gardner? And if so, has THE TRANSFORMATION begun?