If you need yet another reason why the Yankees are going for it, then know that before Sunday nights game at Fenway Park, Aaron Judge had a 213 OPS-plus and Juan Soto was at 187. That is one player with an OPS 113 percent better than average factoring in league and park and another 87 percent better. If you are curious how often teams have had two players at 180 or higher in the Live Ball Era (since 1920), it is: for the 1927, Alek Thomas Jersey 28, 30, 31 and 32 Yankees. End of list. The Yankees won the World Series in 1927, 28 and 32 via sweeps and only mi sed the postseason in 30 and 31 because there were no wild cards and there were the Philadelphia Athletics one of the greatest teams ever in their way. AP There are no Philadelphia Athletics in the AL this year, but the Yanks have something that looks like Ruth and Gehrig. Plus Judge is 32. And Soto is a looming free agent. They might not be Gehrig and Ruth together again. So the Yankees have decided to try to seize this moment by shunning a bad six weeks and using three prospects Saturday In their best scenario, they still add two relievers and another versatile player like St. Louis Tommy Edman (who the Dodgers love too) to fortify for the stretch and postseason. However, their prospect base is not the deepest, and is now diminished more after the Chisholm deal and prices are high. More From Joel Sherman Lets begin with the high price for relievers: Many executives gasped at the quality of prospects the Phillies , who is a free agent after this season, and the , who has two more seasons of team control. One talent evaluator said: Its kind of complicated the pen market. If, for example, the Yankees want to add a controllable lefty like Miamis Andrew Nardi or righty like Oaklands Lucas Erceg, or go for a walk-year item like Marlins closer Tanner Scott, then the costs are being established as high. Yankees rookie Ben Rice JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST And the Yankees have traded lots of prospect collateral, notably pitching, in the last four years. They have endured a lot of injuries and regre sions to key prospects this season. And for Chisholm, they included in catcher Agustin Ramirez and infielder Jared Serna, two of their better secondary prospects that interested sellers, talent evaluators say. That leaves le s of those types that help finish deals. See Also It also creates this dilemma. The evaluators say the Yanks have basically removed Ja son Dominguez from discu sions. That leaves their first-round picks from 2022 (outfielder Spencer Jones) and 2023 (shortstop George Lombard Jr.) as the top-line prospects to get something significant. The Yanks have indicated a willingne s to include one for a difference-maker, but there are not many high-end talents available, and there are lots of buyers. So a word you hear a lot about what the Yanks may have to do is get creative, and within that the name Ben Rice has come up quite a bit. The Yanks do not want to move Jones, Lombard or Rice, but they also dont want to waste seasons that are heir to Gehrig/Ruth. So if, for example, there were quiet inquiries on someone not currently perceived as available such as Toronto first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., then it is going to take a lot of Yankee pain and creativity to get it done. It is po sible that, with Dominguez a soon potential call-up, the Yanks could include an outfielder Trent Grisham or Alex Verdugo to try to spice up a trade or maybe even Gleyber Torres with Chisholm sliding in at second. But Rice is intriguing because he has six years of control and untapped upside. Yankees prospect Spencer Jones Getty Images Remember that in 2003, when Brandon Clau sen was promoted and made a tremendous spot start (6 / innings, one run) in the Subway Series, the fan base believed they had a homegrown starter about to break out, and a month later he was traded for Aaron Boone. Those Yankees were going for it, and so are these. Rice has a good feel for the strike zone, easy lefty power, is a smart kid from a terrific college (Dartmouth) and had instant MLB impact the exact portfolio of Kevin Maas (Cal), whose lack of defensive proficiency and quick-twitch adaptation meant his impact did not last long. Is Rice similar? Maas is part of a Yankee legacy of youngsters who had sensational early results only to not sustain it, including Shane Spencer, Shelley Duncan, Greg Bird and Miguel Andujar. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST Is Rice in that category? What differentiates Rice from Maas is that he is not a pure pull hitter, showing good all-field power, plus the Yankees believe that he will catch in the majors. Again, the Yanks dont want to trade him. Or Jones. Or Lombard. Or Will Warren. Or you get the idea. But they want to capitalize on the moment, notably having a duo as dynamic as Soto/Judge. Thus, Brian Cashman is going to execute more trades to try to upgrade the roster. And it will be fascinating how, um, creative he gets. Evan Longoria Jersey