Will Yankees’ roster turnover bring different results this October?

NEW YORK — Think of all that has changed for the Yankees since they fell to the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series five months ago.

There will be beards in the Yankees’ clubhouse at Yankee Stadium on Thursday after the club’s long-standing facial hair policy was amended during spring training.

The division-rival Rays will be opening their season — and playing all their home games — at Steinbrenner Field, a temporary home after Tropicana Field was ravaged by a hurricane.

Dave Sims will be calling play-by-play in the Yankees’ radio booth, not John Sterling.

And then there’s the considerable amount of roster turnover.

Between free agency, trades and then a wave of injuries during spring training, this is a new-look ball club, to say the least.

Juan Soto left and signed with the Mets. So did Clay Holmes, who went from the Yankees’ closer to the Mets’ Opening Day starter. Nestor Cortes will pitch against the Yankees in a Brewers uniform during the first series of the season and Gleyber Torres will face his old team as a Tiger in April.

The Yankees gave Max Fried the biggest contract ever for a left-handed pitcher. They traded for outfielder Cody Bellinger and right-hander Devin Williams, one of the best closers in the sport. Paul Goldschmidt replaced Anthony Rizzo at first.

Gerrit Cole won’t throw a pitch this season, missing the entire year after Tommy John surgery. Who knows when Giancarlo Stanton will be back from his elbow injuries, diagnosed officially on Wednesday as right and left elbow epicondylitis. There are already 10 players on the Yankees’ 40-man roster beginning the year on the injured list.

Think about it this way. Barring any last-minute moves on Thursday, the Yankees’ Opening Day roster will feature only 12 of the 26 players who were on the team’s playoff roster for the World Series.

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It’s a long season, but on Thursday, questions about what this team is actually capable of will start to be answered. Everything flows through how much this club has changed.

Can Bellinger and Goldschmidt do enough on offense to soften the blow of losing Soto in free agency? Both former Most Valuable Player Award winners looked great in spring training, but doubters won’t believe they can have a full bounce-back season until they see it.

Will Fried be the No. 1 the Yankees desperately need? What was supposed to be a top-five rotation in baseball with Cole, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt now features Marcus Stroman, 38-year-old Carlos Carrasco and prospect Will Warren. Opening Day starter Carlos Rodón is a key component to the trajectory of this pitching staff as well, but it’s hard to overstate what an ace-caliber year from Fried would mean.

Did the Yankees do enough? Young core pieces like Austin Wells, Anthony Volpe, Jasson Domínguez and more have an opportunity to take a step forward in pinstripes this year and the Yankees need them to blossom, but what about third base? Is the bench strong enough? Do the Yankees have enough pitching depth to weather this injury storm? Are they too left-handed on offense?

Yankees manager Aaron Boone and captain Aaron Judge both expect chemistry and clubhouse closeness to be a strength again this year even after all that has changed. That’s something that needs to work itself out during the regular season as this group goes to battle together.

There’s a strong sense of confidence with this team that they have what it takes to get back to the World Series and finish the job this year as well.

Starting on Thursday, when Rodón throws the first pitch of the season in the Bronx, it’s time for this new-look roster to prove it between the lines.

“It’s about proving it on the field,” Fried said. “When you get out there and you get between the lines, it’s us versus you and we want to win every game.

“We know what we’re up against now, and it’s just about taking the cards we were dealt and making the most of it.”

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Max Goodman may be reached at mgoodman@njadvancemedia.com.