This time of year, very little is available,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday, when his ace, Gerrit Cole, was scheduled for Tommy John surgery. “Normally the more significant opportunities don’t exist until the trade deadline.

The Yankees played split-squad games on Tuesday in Tampa against the Orioles and in Bradenton against the Pirates.

Access the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees from spring training Try it free TAMPA — What are the Yankees going to do in the wake of a worst-case scenario in which their ace’s elbow has been opened up for an operation that will knock him out for at least a year?