Yankees won’t win AL East

It’s not just the thirst for 100 home runs from Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton or the World Series near-miss that create sky-high expectations for these Yankees.

From 1 to 25 — with a handful of potential stars lurking in the minor leagues — the Yankees are solidly built.

Yet the Yankees are not invulnerable.

It’s tempting, and perhaps too easy, to envision best-case scenarios for Stanton and Judge based largely on 2017, when Stanton hit 59 home runs and Judge clobbered 52 in winning American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Moving Stanton out of pitcherfriendly Marlins Park and assuming better health for Judge, who had offseason shoulder surgery, should only enhance their chances to repeat such feats.

Yet in four of the past six seasons, Stanton has played 123 or fewer games.

Judge, in his first full season in the majors, showed he’s prone to an extended cold spell. Certainly, his 55game tailspin (.185, 84 strikeouts in 189 at-bats) after the All-Star break can partially be attributed to that balky left shoulder.

The 6-6 Stanton and 6-7 Judge are behemoths in their sport; when all is clicking, the boom times are unparalleled. Big bodies and big swings can be high-maintenance, however, and a

2018 looking exactly like 2017 for either is not guaranteed.

General manager Brian Cashman’s (and, surely, ownership’s) decision to try and reset their luxury tax penalties could be felt most profoundly in the rotation, where Sonny Gray and Jordan Montgomery might determine the Yankees’ fate.

Montgomery can get you 16 outs at a

3.88 ERA clip, which is fine.

Gray, acquired July 31, was inconsistent last year and now moves full time to the AL East. While the sample size is small, he has an aggregate 5.63 ERA in 13 career starts at Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Camden Yards.

Too many quick hooks for Gray, in concert with suboptimal length from CC Sabathia and Montgomery, could place too large a burden on the Yankees’ rockstar bullpen.

And then there are the Red Sox. It’s easy to forget Boston is the reigning division champ and has a healthy David Price from the jump.

And every team in the East, at least initially, will be trying to win, a claim no other division can make.

Should the Red Sox pull away, the wild-card race could get out of balance thanks to other AL teams having punching bags to pummel in September.

Sure, these worries could be just that. Yet this game has seen far surer things go awry. These Yankees aren’t immune from baseball happening.

— Gabe Lacques