The Gerrit Cole frenzy is beginning to seize Yankees

Yankees Fantasy Camp, normally a November-January tradition at George M. Steinbrenner Field to occupy the offseason, will run late this year.

You can credit that to the sight of Gerrit Cole in his Grapefruit League pinstripes.

“You think about a World Series with him pitching Games 1, 4 and maybe 7, if necessary,” Hal Steinbrenner told The Post this past week of his $324 million investment. “He’s just as [CC] Sabathia was in his prime. He’s a solid, solid ace for any club. In any rotation.”

Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing general partner, prides himself on being less emotional and more analytical than his late father, whose name adorns the Yankees’ spring-training home. He, like his baseball operations department, appreciates that multiple mishaps and malfunctions — plus perhaps some sign-stealing misdemeanors by the other side — caused his team to fall short of the World Series each of the past three seasons, even as the Baby Bombers rose and established a new era of franchise excellence and energy.

Then you look at someone like Cole, though, certainly one of the game’s top five starting pitchers and possibly the very best. A lifelong Yankees fan (who, as we all know, nevertheless spurned the Steinbrenners for UCLA after getting selected out of high school in the first round of the 2008 amateur draft). A young man (29) both outgoing and cerebral who has compiled a 2.60 ERA in 10 postseason starts.

And no matter whether you own the team, cover it or root for it, you can’t help but put aside the holistic assessments and wonder: How many titles would the Yankees have if Cole had pitched for them the prior three seasons? At least one, right?

Combine such tantalizing conjecture with the record-setting pact, and all eyes will be on Cole from the moment he reports to camp. His first press conference. His first bullpen session. His first live batting practice. His first exhibition game. Aaron Boone’s official announcement, as long as things go smoothly, that Cole will start Opening Day March 26 in Baltimore against the horrible Orioles.

“I’ve never seen our fan base so excited,” Steinbrenner said. “I think it’s been a long time, it really has been. … He’s just a really special player. He checks all the boxes, and if we’re going to make an investment like this — and we’re not against doing that — it’s going to be somebody, like I said a month ago, that I feel will really be a game-changer. And he’s it.

“He’s young. He’s healthy. Nine years, I expect we’re going to win some championships.”

The owner expresses such Boss-like bravado because he believes Cole will run toward, rather than away from, such heat. Cole crushed his introductory news conference in December at Yankee Stadium, like few have before him. Though health matters can’t be predicted, it’s highly difficult to envision him getting fazed by the barrage of expectations and attention headed his way as soon as he sets foot on team property.

The Yankees’ New Year’s resolution to cut down dramatically on their injuries, backed by a dramatic renovation of their training and conditioning staffs, blew a tire on the runway this week, as Cole’s starting rotation mate James Paxton underwent back surgery that will keep him out of major league action for a minimum of three months. Just like that, the rotation loses considerable depth and heft.

And just like that, the hunger for Cole, the desire to see him rack up strikeouts and innings, further intensifies. Sure, nothing in Florida will count until the Yankees visit Tropicana Field down the road. Sunshine State fantasies, however, can warm the heart and race the mind. For now, Cole can earn his considerable pay fanning those fantasies.

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