If all it took for Brian Cashman to land stud free-agent pitchers was a boarding pass from New York to meet the hurler on his turf, the Yankees’ rotation would be drowning in aces instead of searching for one.

It takes an ocean of money and a long-term commitment most teams don’t even fantasize about. Then New York and all it entails for an athlete comes into play.

Yet, if Cashman and other Yankee staffers flying to Southern California, where they were expected to meet with Gerrit Cole on Tuesday and Stephen Strasburg on Wednesday, has the same result a similar visit 11 years ago had, the Yankees could land the ace they lacked this season when the Astros deleted them from the ALCS in six games.

In 2008 the winter meetings were in Las Vegas, and CC Sabathia sat atop the market for free-agent starters. Like Cole and Strasburg, Sabathia was in his prime, having gone 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 17 starts for the Brewers to lead them into the postseason after being dealt from the Indians that season. Overall Sabathia went 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA and threw 253 innings in 35 starts.

While Sabathia knew the Yankees were armed with a seven-year contract for $161 million, there was a gray area.

Until Cashman slipped out of Las Vegas and walked into Sabathia’s Northern California home.

“That sealed the deal. If Cash didn’t fly to California, I probably wouldn’t have signed [with the Yankees],’’ Sabathia told The Post on Tuesday when he was honored as the March of Dimes Sportsman of the Year at the New York Hilton in Manhattan.

There is a belief in the industry that Cole, 29, won’t be seduced by the Yankees cash and that Strasburg, 31, will return to the Nationals after pitching them to a World Series title in October, when he went 5-0 with a 1.98 ERA in the postseason and was the World Series MVP.

Sabathia hasn’t made contact with Cole yet, but plans to talk to the pitcher the Yankees selected in the first round of the 2008 draft and watched dance away to UCLA. Three years later the Pirates took the right-hander with the first pick in the draft.

When Sabathia connects with Cole, he will bring up his experience.

“Look at how my thing turned out. I was a West Coast guy and people believed I didn’t want to pitch here,’’ said Sabathia, who helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series and posted a 134-88 record and 3.81 ERA in 307 games (306 starts) in 11 years with the Yankees. “If you realistically want to win every year and give yourself a chance to win, there is no other place than to come here.’’

The Yankees aren’t devoid of starting pitchers. Many teams would be satisfied with James Paxton, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Domingo German and J.A. Happ with Mike King and Deivi Garcia inching closer to the big leagues. Still, the Yankees have not been to the World Series since beating the Phillies in 2009.

As for what the retired Sabathia has done since walking off the Yankee Stadium mound in the middle of an at-bat during the eighth inning of Game 4 of the ALCS with a dislocated left shoulder, he had shoulder surgery a week ago and is hoping to land a job with Yankees.

Sabathia had his left arm in a sling Tuesday with a strap attached that went around his waist.

“It’s sore. I will be in this until Christmas,’’ said Sabathia, who contemplated having his right knee scoped but didn’t want to deal with another surgery at the moment. “I am going to roll with it and try to lose some weight and see if that helps.’’

As for a job with the Yankees, Sabathia has been engaged with the organization.

“Right now, we are in the middle of trying to get that done,’’ Sabathia said. “I know Cash has a million things on his plate right now. That’s the goal. I have been talking to Cash and those guys since the season ended. I definitely want to be around as soon as possible. It’s just a matter of getting everything worked out.’’