advance to their first World Series since 2009, but rather a play away.

“Let’s see,” Boras said, as he addressed the media during the general managers’ meetings. “I watched the Astros series. I kind of watched a player in particular make them more than one play away.”

Actually, Cole — who learned Wednesday that he finished second in the AL Cy Young vote — pitched in just one game against the Yankees, tossing seven shutout innings to win ALCS Game 3 at Yankee Stadium. Although, had the Yankees survived Game 6, the childhood Yankees fan Cole would’ve been waiting for them in Game 7 at Minute Maid Park.

“Each franchise has windows of opportunity. I think everybody, when they talk about the Yankees, I think everyone views them as a now team,” Boras said. “They view them as a club that is very capable of being really, really successful over a four-year or so period. And certainly, they’re in a great place to take advantage of that. To the levels they want to take advantage of it, to the probabilities they want to, I can say this: I certainly have some ideas that might increase their probabilities.”

In addition to Cole, Boras represents free-agent pitchers Dallas Keuchel, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Stephen Strasburg as well as third basemen Anthony Rendon and Mike Moustakas.

Earlier Wednesday, Cashman said that he had spoken with one of Boras’ deputies and had yet to speak with Boras himself, nor did he have a meeting scheduled. Nevertheless, the Yankees expect to remain in the loop on all of Boras’ available arms as well as free agents Madison Bumgarner, Jake Odorizzi and Zack Wheeler, the latter of whom will reject the Mets’ $17.8 million qualifying offer on Thursday.

While many of Cole’s friends believe that the Southern California native wants to head home, and Angels owner Arte Moreno appears in an aggressive mood after hiring veteran manager Joe Maddon, Boras insisted, “I don’t think geography matters to any of these guys as much as what matters is the continuance of winning. … I think in Gerrit’s case, when you’re that close, that you’re really looking at this process as one that, ‘I’ve got a box to check, and I want to go out and put together the best effort to put me in the position to do that.”

Nevertheless, Boras, who is headquartered in California’s Orange County just like the Angels, didn’t mind sharing the tidbit that he recently sat down for lunch with Moreno. Asked whether Cole joined them, Boras responded, “I don’t want to give you the lunch roster. [Dodgers president of baseball operations] Andrew Friedman was not at that lunch, by the way.”

The critical determinant for the Yankees will be how high managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner wants to take the team’s payroll. As currently constructed, the Yankees already would surpass the initial $208 million luxury-tax threshold. The higher thresholds, each one carrying additional penalties, stand at $228 million and $248 million.

Boras, in expressing his annual criticisms of the industry, lamented that these luxury-tax thresholds, instituted by former commissioner Bud Selig, serve as “rails” to protect the owners from their own irresponsibility.

“Yet this current commissioner [Rob Manfred] has said the owners have an evaluative system that is wonderful, they’re abiding by it,” Boras said. “They’re more disciplined. If that’s the case, I think we remove the rails.”

Asked how he could convince a team like the Yankees, large-market yet mindful of the thresholds, to add a large salary to their payroll, Boras said, “I don’t think the word ‘convince’ is appropriate. We’re more the post office than the letter writers.”

While Boras holds a well-earned reputation for deliberation, many recent free-agent clients unsigned into spring training [like Bryce Harper last year] or even into the regular season [like Keuchel last year], he expressed optimism that he would settle his client list earlier this offseason.

“In these pitching free-agent players and position players today, we’re getting clubs that want to immediately come in and meet and have dialogue and move the process along much quicker,” Boras said. “They’re all telling me they want to make decisions much earlier.”

Ref;nypost.com