After his biggest effort of his offseason and one of the biggest of his tenure, Brian Cashman realized what was at stake and how urgent it was.

“We're just very proud to be able to call him a Yankee at this point,” the general manager said in December before his only guaranteed season as Juan Soto, “with every intention of having a shot at a title.”

The shot missed.

After a season full of joy, far too many mistakes and ultimately and crucially more disappointments, the Yankees are now heading into an offseason of uncertainty.

The drought has reached 15 years without a World Series championship for the Yankees, whose dream was cut short by three wins and at the powerful hands of the Dodgers.

Dave Roberts' squad, with help from the hosts, fought back from a five-run hole to deliver a dramatic 7-6 Game 5 loss to the Yankees on the field in the Bronx on Wednesday that was part heartbreaking, part self-assured – added head shake.

Aaron Judge, whose miserable postseason ended with a home run and a critical error, will return, but for his age-33 season.

Likewise (probably) Gerrit Cole, who pitched 6²/₃ in mostly excellent innings (in which all five of his runs were unearned) and turns 35 in September.

Giancarlo Stanton will celebrate his 35th birthday next week. The core ages and perhaps the untitled window begins to close.

They know nothing about the future of Soto, who is expected to receive the second-largest contract in baseball history — behind only Shohei Ohtani, whose Dodgers hugged on the infield turf as Soto watched from the home bench for what could be the final time.

The Yankees have failed to do what every other World Series contender who has lost their first three games has failed: force a Game 6.

They tore through the Dodgers' bullpen in Game 4 before a Game 5 in which they built a five-run lead and then threw it away in an error-filled fifth inning.

Early home runs from Judge, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Stanton were squandered, and the Yankees took a 5-0 lead through the third inning.

On a night when the Yankees left 12 men on base, went 1:10 with runners in scoring position and gave runs the go-ahead in the eighth inning, there was significantly more wasted.

Tommy Kahnle faced three batters and retired none, Luke Weaver came in and allowed sacrifice flies to Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts that tied the game.

Wasted was the only year the Yankees knew they would have Soto.

The impending free agent cost a lot – including Michael King, who became a star with the Padres – and seemed to enjoy his time in the Bronx, but money will likely dictate where he signs.

The 2024 Yankees made progress — reaching the World Series for the first time since 2009 — but not enough by Yankees standards.

You'll remember the scene when Walker Buehler, the Dodgers' Game 3 starter, came out of the bullpen and recorded the final three outs of their season.

In a season in which the Yankees constantly tried to outdo their mistakes, those mistakes made the difference in an inning in which they gifted the Dodgers six outs; an innings that will haunt this franchise.

It all unraveled during a fifth inning that included an error by defensively strong captain Judge and a mental error by smart pitcher Cole.

It started with a single from Kiké Hernandez. Tommy Edman hit a sinking liner up the middle, after which things began to unravel.

Judge got to the ball and appeared to look at Hernandez first to see if he had a chance to double Hernandez, but then the ball deflected off his glove, causing an error that led to two on came without an out.

Three hitters were out without an out a batter later, Will Smith grounded into the shortstop hole and Anthony Volpe threw to Chisholm to score the lead runner.

In one hole, Cole hit a 99.4 mph heat — the fastest pitch he's thrown in 2024 — to beat Lux before putting Ohtani down with an ankle curve.

But when Cole was one step away from escaping, his steps failed him: Betts hit a game ball to first base, where Rizzo fielded and Cole didn't cover, so Betts reached him and scored a run.

The first Dodgers run accidentally scored. The next four were more energetic, Freddie Freeman drove in a single to center and Teoscar Hernandez doubled over Judge's head to tie the game.

This is how the Yankees' season ended: They lamented what could have been and perhaps would have been, while also watching what was – a World Series that eluded them.