What was clear in Brian Cashman’s offseason game plan — above and beyond securing Aaron Judge for nine more years at $360 million — was to adhere to the same formula that enabled the Yankees to run away with the AL East the first four months of 2022, never to be seriously challenged: Superior starting pitching.

We can talk about Judge’s record 62 homers and how that won him American League MVP honors, and that will be what 2022 will forever be remembered for. But the 70-34 record the Yankees had carved out by Aug. 1, with a 12-game lead, was largely the product of remarkably consistent starting pitching from the quintet of Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Jameson Taillon, Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery who, combined, had only four starts in which they gave up four or more runs into mid-July. That the Yankees went 10-20 from the July 31 trade deadline to Sept. 4, watching their lead dwindle to 4 ½ games over Toronto at one point, could be reflective of two factors: Severino came up with his annual lat injury and was sidelined from July 13-Sept. 21 and, at the trade deadline, Cashman still felt comfortable enough about his starting pitching depth to trade Montgomery to the Cardinals for injured center fielder Harrison Bader, who didn’t join the team until Sept. 20.

Once he signed Judge, Cashman knew his top priority now had to be a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher to replace Taillon, who’d left as a free agent — and remained laser-focused on free agent lefty Carlos Rodon until he was able to haul him in just before Christmas for six years, $162 million. And that was to be the extent of Cashman’s offseason. Still here are Josh Donaldson and Aaron Hicks, the primary strikeout culprits in the Yankees’ plodding home run-or-bust offense, but this spring there was no mistaking the burst of energy Anthony Volpe provided the lineup in making believers out of those on Cashman’s staff who had questions about him winning the shortstop job.

Still, the Yankees start out the season minus both Rodon (week to week with a forearm strain) and Severino (the lat again), which will put added pressure on Clarke Schmidt, the 2017 first-round draft pick from South Carolina, who struck out 18 and walked just three in 15.1 spring training innings. Indeed, Cashman is counting on something rather unique for the Yankees — breakthrough performances by not one but two homegrown players in Volpe and Schmidt.

With Rodon and Severino down, Aaron Boone starts out challenged to piece together a rotation that can get the Yankees through April, and at one point one wonders if Cashman will feel compelled to trade from his infield depth (Gleyber Torres) for another starting pitcher. Only problem with that, of course, is Cashman’s abysmal record in trading for starting pitchers (Frankie Montas, Sonny Gray, Jeff Weaver, Javy Vazquez, et al.)

Regardless of how soon Rodon and Severino get back, the Yankees can’t expect near the cakewalk the AL East was last year. For one, the Blue Jays made significant improvements in the offseason, addressing their all-right-handed lineup by trading for Arizona’s Daulton Varsho and signing both Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Belt as free agents. In addition, they added depth to their starting rotation by signing Chris Bassitt, a solid No. 3 for the Mets last year, and traded for a potentially significant bullpen piece in hard-throwing right-hander Erik Swanson from Seattle. Meanwhile, the Rays, who may have the deepest overall pitching, quality-wise, in the whole division, are expecting comeback seasons from Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe, and if they get them, could make them the team to beat in the division.

Time will tell if signing Rodon was enough for Cashman this winter. It should not be forgotten that even with Donaldson, Hicks and the bottom 3-4 in the lineup dead wood most of the second half, the Yankees still had the second most runs scored in the majors last year. After a winter of refining his swing, Donaldson looked a lot like his old self this spring so that’s something too. More than anything, though, the focus falls on Volpe, who everyone agrees has that “it” factor — a guy who can transform the entire complexion of the team with his energy, clutch hitting, and uncommon poise for a 21-year-old.

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