Bombers make needed move — like any team going for it should

TAMPA — The Yankees project as a very good team and what very good teams should be doing at this time of year is seeing if there are ways to address areas that could prevent them from being very good.

The Yankees accomplished that Tuesday by obtaining Brandon Drury — and they believe Drury can be more than just a safety valve.

The Yankees were worried Miguel Andujar might not be ready to play third base when the season began. They also had concerns whether Tyler Austin was quality enough to back up the so-far fragile Greg Bird at first.

At worst, Drury is a stopgap for third and first. But the Yankees have much higher hopes than that. They think Drury has a chance to be the infield version of Aaron Hicks — that given a full chance to play he could blossom not only into a regular, but a quality regular.

And they obtained him within the parameters that work for them — namely he fits their designs to stay under the $197 million luxury-tax threshold plus, in second baseman Nick Solak and righty Taylor Widener, the Yankees sent prospects they like, but who they believe are behind a group of others better and closer to the majors. Thus, the cost in every way was worth it for the Yanks.

In all, Solak plus lefty Anthony Banda and two players to be named later from Arizona went to Tampa. Steven Souza from the Rays and Weidner went to the Diamondbacks. Drury alone came to the Yankees. But that was enough for them.

Drury is just 25. He is not yet arbitration eligible, so will make probably in the $600,000-$700,000 range, which works ideally for the Yanks’ luxury-tax quest. He also has four years of control before free agency.

He has played first, second, third, left and right for the Diamondbacks during his three seasons. The Yanks scout his best position as third base, where he was blocked in Arizona by Jake Lamb.

A non-Yankees personnel man said Drury is a hard worker with power potential not yet fulfilled. He has hit 29 homers over the past two years.

The most likely scenario now for the Yankees is that Drury is their Opening Day third baseman and either Ronald Torreyes or Danny Espinosa starts at second. This will allow them not to exert immediate pressure on Andujar and Gleyber Torres to perform and, instead, will let both touted prospects go to Triple-A. The Yanks see Torres as closer to the majors, so he likely will join the big team sooner to play second.

But the Yanks think enough of Drury that he might just grab third base, even if Andujar shows he is ready. That would give the Yankees depth and options moving forward. If Andujar comes up and plays third base, Drury can back up there plus first, second, left and right and even DH when needed. He or even Andujar could also become a trade chip in the offseason.

The Post f irst reported that the Yankees were interested in Drury at the Winter Meetings in December, so he is a player they have scouted extensively. But they have further insight. Their new third-base coach, Phil Nevin, managed Drury at Triple-A for the Diamondbacks in 2014-15. Additionally, Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey was Arizona’s pitching coach in 2015, when Drury made his major league debut.

To acquire Drury, the Yankees followed their familiar path of trading from an area of strength. Solak, a second-round pick in 2016, is considered to have excellent batto-ball skills and speed, but a fringy defender, which could improve because he also is considered to be a grinding hard worker.

One scout likened Widener, a 12th-round pick in 2016, to Colorado’s Chad Bettis, operating with a 93-94 mph fastball, an average slider and a competitive nature.

But there were questions whether he is a back-of-the-rotation starter or a setup reliever moving forward.

In Torres, Tyler Wade and Thairo Estrada, the Yankees have middle infielders closer to the majors they liked better than Solak, who along with Clint Frazier were main pieces the Yanks offered Pittsburgh earlier in the offseason for Gerrit Cole.

The Yankees are loaded with righty pitching prospects they like more than Widener who also are closer to the majors, including Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, Chance Adams, Luis Medina, Freicer Perez and Dillon Tate.

So at a price that works for them — in dollars and prospects — the Yanks obtained at worse a stopgap to prevent an early worst-case scenario. And they think Brandon Drury will be more than that.