If the Yankees plan to trade their way back to relevance, good luck with that.

First rule about the '24 Yankees: After the Yama-Christmas debacle, we cannot believe anything they say. 

The more we learn about their inconsequential 3rd place offer - the bronze medal for nothingness - the more stark is the chasm between big spenders and the piddling, penny-pinching Yankees. 

Both the Dodgers and Mets offered $25 million more than what Hal's fanny pack would allow, and the Yankee excuse - they wouldn't go above Gerrit Cole's payments - smacks of Old School Mealy-Mouth. Cole is a players union man who understands raising the payroll bar, and all he wants is a ring, not some fake corporate proclamation of loyalty. The Yankees spent the last three months touting their intention to sign Yamamoto, then they fell $25 million short.

Second Rule of the modern Yankees: Whomever the next top free agent is - maybe even the top two - Steve Cohen will be laying down his money, and the Yankees will be writing their excuses.

That talk of being "all in on 2024?" Well, Baltimore is the best and youngest team in baseball, preparing to add Jackson Holliday, the game's most exciting prospect. The Rays are the Rays, Toronto is one player away, and the Yankees have emptied their farm system of young pitching - which is still the life blood of baseball. 

To fix the roster, Brian Cashman may have to trade, and therein lies the rub: 

Who goes? Who do they have that other teams want?

1. Prospects? They've already drained the system. There are Oswald and Oswaldo (Peraza and Cabrera), neither of whom showed much last year. Everson Pereira rose meteorically and burned out. They'll get absolutely nothing for Estevan Florial, having sat on him for five years, and it says something sad that they signed the funny namesake, Jeter Downs, after he was jettisoned by - gulp - the Washington Nationals. I thought it was cool, until I realized, WTF? that's a roster spot. 

2. Hitters? Um, correct me if I'm wrong here, but weren't they one of baseball's saddest offenses last year? There's Gleyber, I suppose. But wasn't keeping him a sign of Hal's '24 commitment? They could trade DJ LeMahieu - at his lowest value. They could house-flip Alex Verdugo; it would be fun to think he shaved his beard for nothing. But who do they have that another team wants? (And nobody will take Giancarlo; not even Cohen.)

3. Pitching? Yikes. That's the problem. They're still overly invested in Carlos Rodon, and Nasty Nestor - when not attending Trump rallies - may have passed his sell-by date. Our No. 2 starter is Clarke Schmidt. 

So, in a nutshell, here is the Yankee plight.

Free agents? We're up against Cohen, and we won't win any bidding wars. Trades? We have nobody to give, plus there's Cashman's horrific record over the last two years. 

Sorry to be such a downer. But the Yankees leveraged their winter on adding Yamamoto, and they didn't even finish runner-up. 

I don't know where they go from here. But it sure looks gloomy.