Yankees bullish on their ‘championship caliber’ roster — and challenge anyone to say otherwise

Now that the Yankees have just about the whole band back together — the one that got knocked around in an ALDS loss to the Blue Jays — exactly why will this version have a better ending than the 2025 version?

That’s what Brian Cashman, Aaron Boone and the player that was at the center of the Yankees reunion, Cody Bellinger, tried to explain Wednesday.

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The answer lies in the development of some young players — Cam Schlittler for one — a full season with their trade deadline acquisitions from last summer and, most of all, the expected return of Gerrit Cole in the first half of the season.

Cole didn’t throw a pitch last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in the spring.

His rehab, as well as the rehab of Carlos Rodón, is going as expected, which is positive news in The Bronx.

Will it be enough, though, to get the Yankees past the Blue Jays — not to mention the improved Orioles and up-and-coming Red Sox — to win the AL East and then have a chance to upend the mighty Dodgers in the World Series?

“One series, make or break, is not gonna define what we think our capabilities are,” Cashman said of the ALDS loss on a Zoom call from Tampa. “We all understand in [the] postseason, you’ve got to bring your best baseball every series and if you don’t, you’re going home. It doesn’t mean we weren’t capable of great things. We just didn’t get the job done in that time frame against the Toronto Blue Jays, the defending American League champs.”

Boone was similarly confident.

“At the end of last year, in so many ways, it’s as good as I felt about our team heading into the postseason in the years I’ve been here,” Boone said. “Obviously, we got beat up in the division round. It didn’t go our way. That doesn’t mean it’s not gonna go our way the next time. We think we’re really good. That doesn’t mean we’re gonna win 94 games again. It doesn’t mean we’re gonna win 88. But we think we have the pieces.”

A source also told The Post’s Jon Heyman the Yankees have stayed in contact with Paul Goldschmidt as a right-handed bat to give the lefty-swinging Ben Rice some protection at first, but only if the price is right. They also continue to be interested in adding more pitching, as well as possibly a right-handed outfield bat, with Randal Grichuk and Austin Slater potential candidates, according to Heyman.

And then there’s Bellinger, who signed a five-year, $162.5 million deal with a pair of opt outs to return to The Bronx after a successful first season with the Yankees following his trade from the Cubs last offseason.

“I feel really good with that,” Bellinger said of going into this year with a similar squad as a year ago. “That might not be what everyone wants to hear, but I love the group we had. We had great chemistry. I don’t think that can be understood unless you’re inside the clubhouse. We all played for each other.”

Cashman, the architect, noted that there have been some alterations from a year ago, with some new arms, in particular.

“It’s not the same roster,” Cashman said. “We have some players at some point returning from the IL that are important players. Gerrit Cole is one of them.”

They traded for another young reliever Wednesday, acquiring 23-year-old right-hander Angel Chivilli from Colorado in exchange for minor league first baseman T.J. Rumfield.

There’s also internal optimism that the upgrades they made at the deadline, with bullpen arms like David Bednar and Camilo Doval, in particular, as well as potential improved defense at third base from Ryan McMahon and more depth with Amed Rosario and José Caballero will pay dividends.

“I’ve been openly willing to challenge anybody that we don’t have a championship caliber roster [and] team,’’ Cashman said. “And it’s our job to try to make it better along the way.”