Carter too big a bargain for Hal to nix

Hal Steinbrenner did not intend to expand payroll again this offseason after the Yankees secured Aroldis Chapman and Matt Holliday at the winter meetings.

Money would have to be moved off the payroll by trading a Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, Starlin Castro or Michael Pineda to allocate elsewhere.

But as free-agent prices began to fall precipitously in recent weeks on relievers and sluggers, in particular, Brian Cashman asked whether Steinbrenner would consider expanding the budget a bit to capitalize on sudden bargains. The Yankees owner agreed to allow one more signing in the $3 million-$4 million range.

That left the Yankees short on two lefties they liked, Boone Logan (who got $5.5 million from the Indians) and especially Jerry Blevins (who agreed at $6.5 million with the Mets). The next level of relievers, a group that included Sergio Romo (who got $3 million from the Dodgers), did not entice the Yankees quite as much.

Instead, the Yankees felt the value and impact would be greater in landing a bat, and that is how they came to reach a $3.5 million agreement with Chris Carter, pending a physical. They saw Carter as giving them not only big power, but some insurance at first base.

Ideally, the Yanks want Greg Bird to win the majority of the job. But he missed all of last season after needing shoulder surgery. In the Arizona Fall League, Bird did not hit well and did not play first base at all. If he needs to go the minors to work on his swing, the Yankees feel more comfortable that they will now have Carter.

For now, Tyler Austin is the player most impacted by the enlisting of Carter. Austin was potentially the righty-swinging caddy to Bird and also his insurance policy. It is conceivable Aaron Judge can demonstrate he needs more minor league at-bats and Austin could become part of a right-field rotation.

But, at minimum, Carter now appears to have Austin’s job — to play first base against lefties and pinchhit late in a game against a lefty reliever such as Baltimore’s Zach Britton or Cleveland’s Andrew Miller.

The Yanks recognize Carter is a flawed player — the kind of one-dimensional type they have been trying to get away from in recent years. But they saw $3.5 million for a guy who tied for the NL homer lead (41) last year as too good to ignore. Nevertheless, any lineup that has him and Judge would be strikeout heavy. In addition, Carter is viewed as a below-average defender and base runner.

Also, a team that has been historically built to capitalize on lefty power in its home ballpark now leans distinctly right with Carter, Holliday and Gary Sanchez plus Judge all righty. With Carlos Beltran and Brian McCann traded and Mark Teixeira retired, Bird and Didi Gregorius are now the Yankees’ best lefty power threats.