In the next few days, the Yankees must decide their short and long term future

Today, as baseball camps open nationwide, Brian "Cooperstown" Cashman should be holed-up in the Yankee War Room, inching his chess pieces into place.

Once upon a time - the December of 2018 - in a surge of hubris and egotism, Cashman proclaimed his Yankee team "a fully operational Death Star." That was the winter when Bryce Harper and Manny Machado prostrated themselves in the hope of joining the Yankees, while Cashman hid under the bed. Well, right now, Cashman's roster looks like a Boeing 747 with five propellers and one wing, and it's hard to decide whether to jump or attempt a crash landing.

Cashman's first move - finding a shortstop - will launch a domino drop of trades and acquisitions that will remake the infield, if not the long term Yankee roster.

You can argue that it won't matter. With the owners adding yet another playoff team - now, six in each league - the Yankees can probably do nothing and still contend for the postseason. Mediocrity has triumphed. But but BUT... the Mets are poised to take NYC. With each new acquisition, Steve Cohen looks more like the owner who once defined the Yankees. And Food Stamps Hal looks more like a lost generational, a guy at peace with third place, as long as the bottom line sustains itself. 

At shortstop, the Yankees face a long and short term crossroads, with two possibilities. 

Stopgap. Find somebody, anybody. Increasingly, the phrase "Sir Didi" keeps popping up. Last time we saw Didi Gregorius, he was a great Yankee - the man who replaced Jeter, capable of 25 HRs and sterling defense. Then, like W. C. Fields, he discovered Philadelphia. 

Last year, at age 31 and hobbled by tweaks, Didi was legitimately one of baseball's worst players. He hit .207 with an OBP of .270. That makes Joey Gallo look like Rod Carew. The Phils presumably would swim the meandering Schuykill to shed Sir Didi's $8 million contract, now in its final year.

Obtaining Didi - or a scrap heap, glove-first SS - would allow one of their three top prospects - Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Cabrera - to emerge and take over. Trouble is, none are ready, and none are a sure thing. Conceivably, one might arrive by August. So... how lucky do we feel? 

Big name. There are two - Trevor Story and Carlos Correa. Both come with complications.

Story, at 29, looks to be near his sell-by date. Last year, he hit 25 HRs and batted .251 - 21 points below his career average. Increasingly, there is talk of him moving to 3B or CF. Should the Yankees lash themselves long term to a SS who is not a SS? Also, those numbers - they happened in Colorado. Just sayin.'

Correa, the most expensive free agent in this winter's market, is only 27. Last year, he hit 26 HR and batted .279. Like Story, he hits RH - (the Yankees need lefties) - and he remains hated by the Yankee fan base for the 2019 cheating scandal. Eventually, we'd warm up. But it's not hard to foresee another Francisco Lindor situation. 

Either way, Cashman faces a huge decision - perhaps the last one he ever makes for the Yankees in an off-season. Between the ascending Mets, rising inflation and lingering fan resentment over the lockout, whomever plays SS might do it in a mostly empty stadium.  

So, which direction do we go? 

It's time to decide the short and long-term future of the Yankees. Today or tomorrow... boom.