What’s harder to comprehend these days about the Yankees’ pieced-together rotation? That it’s mostly composed of starters that didn’t figure into the top five when everyone showed up in Tampa two months ago? Or Carlos Rodon being the de facto No. 1 for the defending AL champs, largely due to the Bronx comfort factor and pinstriped seniority?

We’d call it a tie. No offense to Rodon, who took the mound Wednesday night against the Diamondbacks, but the Yankees gave him $162 million to be Gerrit Cole’s sidekick — not replace him as the alpha dog of the Yankees’ rotation. And as far as Max Fried goes, while he certainly deserves the ace label along with his own $218 million price tag, it takes time to get fully acclimated to New York, as Saturday’s bumpy debut would attest.

Fortunately for the Yankees, they’ve been down this topsy-turvy road before. Last year, in fact, when Cole’s spring-training elbow scare cost him the first 11 weeks of the regular season. Now that he’s gone until 2026 after requiring Tommy John surgery, and Luis Gil remains on the shelf until June — at the earliest — manager Aaron Boone & Co. are faced with the unenviable task of duplicating the near-miracle they pulled off during the first half a year ago.

Stunningly, without Cole, the Yankees’ rotation performed like the best in baseball, leading the majors in wins (36), ERA (2.86) and opponents’ batting average (.212) in those 75 games minus their $324 million ace. They also were third with a 1.12 WHIP.

For those dreaming of an encore, consider this: Only two of the five pitchers responsible for pulling that off — Rodon and Marcus Stroman — are now on the staff. Gil was the main engine, and he’s gone for a while. Nestor Cortes was last seen being pummeled in a Brewers uniform, but Clarke Schmidt (rotator cuff tendinitis) is nearing on the horizon after Boone said Tuesday that he should return for mid-April debut against the Royals.

The Yankees now have Fried, of course. That’s obviously a significant upgrade, and a timely insurance policy, thanks to GM Brian Cashman, who doubled-down on the rotation in December after Juan Soto rejected Hal Steinbrenner’s $760 million offer. But as Rodon showed two years ago, the transition to pinstripes isn’t usually an overnight process, so the same could be true for Fried. Also, the Yankees are now forced to rely on rookie Will Warren in the No. 4 spot followed by the 38-year-old Carlos Carrasco, who makes his first start Thursday night.

A year ago, Cole was like a second pitching coach to Matt Blake, devouring all the data he could and counseling his fellow starters from the bench. Cole remains with the Yankees post-surgery, though he’s made himself scarce to the media for now, but he’s expected to assume that rotation captain title on the sidelines. Cole’s guidance is going to be needed for this group, which has yet to find it’s North Star.

“That’ll evolve as the year goes on,” Boone said before Wednesday night’s game. “Hopefully, as we go, people will emerge in that (lead) role.”

The Yankees weren’t sure where they were going to find a substitute for Cole a year ago — replacing the reigning Cy Young winner figured to be impossible. But Gil skyrocketed from high-ceiling prospect to Rookie of the Year based on the foundation he established during Cole’s absence, when he went 9-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 14 starts.

Who’s capable of doing that now? Fried certainly has the resume, with a pair of top five finishes for the Cy Young Award, but he failed to complete five innings Saturday despite being staked to a 16-6 lead (he needed 94 pitches to get 14 outs). Rodon is head of the class after his seven-strikeout, one-run performance over 5 1/3 innings on Opening Day, so he could take the reins, based on a more varied arsenal now that’s made him a more dangerous pitcher than the one who first arrived in the Bronx.

“The proof’s in the pudding,” Boone said. “He has different ways to beat you.”

Beyond Fried and Rodon, the supporting cast is tough to handicap. After the Yankees found no takers for a Stroman trade during the winter, he had to shake off the whole odd-man-out narrative this spring before winding up as the No. 3 starter (Stroman allowed three runs in 4 2/3 innings Sunday).

Warren and Gil were the sole survivors of the Soto trade that wiped out the upper levels of the Yankees’ young pitching reserves two years ago. On Tuesday, Warren showed promise against the lefty-heavy Diamondbacks, going five innings (two runs, four walks, four Ks) in what was considered a solid start to build on.

“I’m here to go out there and take the ball every five days,” said Warren, who had a 10.32 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance last season. “Give us a chance to win.”

The same goes for Carrasco, a 16-year veteran with 110 career victories, and a 15-win season as recently as 2022 for the Mets. Carrasco conceded some jitters during his pinstriped relief debut Saturday, so he’s glad to get those out of the way before Thursday’s start.

“Getting this opportunity,” Carrasco said, “I just got to go out there and show that I can still pitch.”

The Yankees will take anything they can get from this rotation right now.