MLB

WAITING TO SEE SANTA-NA CLAUS

THAT “transition period” Hank Steinbrenner declared the Yankees were in late October lasted about as long as the idea that David Beckham would make professional soccer relevant in this country.

Since then the Yanks have invested approximately $400 million of Hank’s inheritance to re-enlist three players who will play at 33 or older next year (as an aside, happy 38th birthday tomorrow Mariano Rivera).

Britney Spears is moving with as much speed toward Shakespearean theatre as the Yanks are moving toward true rebuilding.

With another $200 million payroll and a positional roster that might have to be carbon dated to determine its age, the 2008 Yanks will remain a now team. This is why they must sacrifice even more precious youth – think Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera and Jose Tabata – to land Johan Santana.

Would that be painful? You bet. But A’s GM Billy Beane has a philosophy that if you don’t feel pain, it is not a fair deal. That is why only on WFAN can you get Santana for Andy Phillips. On planet Earth, the laws of supply-and-demand slant heavily toward Minnesota because prime-age aces get on the market so infrequently nowadays. And here are the Twins willing to deal one of the majors’ three best pitchers, a few months shy of his 29th birthday.

To obtain this kind of No. 1 starter (Josh Beckett), the Red Sox had to include a prospect (Hanley Ramirez) that might win a few MVP awards. Yet Boston would never reverse that deal, illustrating what is most precious right now in the majors.

So to keep up with the Red Sox, the Yanks need their Beckett. The cost is going to be staggering. In fact, right now, the Twins’ asking price is even higher than Hughes/Cabrera/Tabata. But this is just the infancy of negotiations, and if the Yanks can take requests to that area, they must act, in part as a way of protecting the young starters left after this deal.

Because, in 2008, the Yanks want to avoid forcing Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and/or Ian Kennedy to innings levels that jeopardize their futures. Right now, the Yanks’ two veteran starters are Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina, and the Yanks know Wang is miscast as an ace and Mussina’s chances of pitching well and/or healthy through a whole season are slim.

So the Yanks could face having to mix all of those win-now positional veterans – many of whom have closing windows of effectiveness with young starters yet to even prove they can endure a whole major league season. Could they? Sure. But there is as good a chance that one or more regress and need more minor-league seasoning. And even 2008 success could be bittersweet since the evidence shows heavy workloads for pitchers in their early 20s greatly magnifies the probability of arm problems.

In the best-case scenario, the 2008 Yanks would limit their most touted arms to 150-175 innings. That would be difficult even if Andy Pettitte un-retired. But Santana is the kind of horse (most AL innings over the last four years) that eases the burden on rotations and suspect bullpens.

If the Yanks had Santana, Pettitte, Wang and Mussina, they could comfortably regulate innings for the youngsters, plus be better positioned next year when Mussina and Pettitte almost certainly would be gone.

Of course, there is great risk here. The Cardinals traded Dan Haren for Mark Mulder, thinking Mulder would be their Santana. Instead, he got hurt and Haren grew into an ace. Could Hughes be Haren? Maybe. Could Santana break down like Mulder? Yes. But the evidence now is Hughes still needs a changeup to be even a No. 2 starter and Santana is a superb athlete with a strong chance of justifying a six- or seven-year commitment at big dollars.

Cabrera is a nice player, particularly because of his defense. But, perhaps, the Yanks could sign Mike Cameron (a pal of Alex Rodriguez’s) for two years of defense, power and speed, and a bridge to rising prospect Austin Jackson.

Again, this is going to be painful. The Yanks have rejected many requests for Hughes, Cabrera and Tabata. Would the Yanks love to substitute Kennedy for Hughes or Brett Gardner for Cabrera? Yes. But if it takes the elite package, so be it. Santana is not some geriatric like Randy Johnson or Kevin Brown, some hope-and-a-prayer such as Jaret Wright or Carl Pavano. He is a prime-age ace. He is the toughest commodity to find in the sport. He is worth the price.

joel.sherman@nypost.com