A loss - and a new Cody Bellinger/Paul Goldschmidt nugget - show why reeling Yankees seem headed toward 'soft buying' at best

Yanks' Cody Bellinger hits 3rd home run of game against Cubs, an inning after being robbed | AP News

The Yankees aren’t selling. They just don’t do that around here, especially not when they’re in playoff position.

Right?

Right. Almost certainly.

But Monday’s 4-2 loss to Tampa Bay did nothing to restore the front office’s faith in the team. It was further reinforcement of their likely approach, first reported by SNY on Saturday, to be what you might call “soft buyers,” making moves that improve the current roster without risking the future.

In that column, we relayed that the Yankees were floating some of their free-agent-to-be relievers in preliminary trade talks. We have since learned through league sources that last week the Yanks brought up Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt in talks with at least one other club.

Wait, what?

That does not mean that the Yankees will trade Bellinger and/or Goldschmidt. In fact, we’d still be very surprised.

But the nugget is telling in its timing: this conversation happened last week, when the Yanks were concerned that Aaron Judge would need season-ending elbow surgery. If that had happened, GM Brian Cashman might have gone into sell mode. They were probably laying groundwork, just in case. This alone gives us another data point on how the front office might feel about its team.

Judge did not need surgery, meaning that the season is still on. Technically. There are voices encouraging Cashman to go all-in before Thursday’s trade deadline. In a weak American League, they really could still find themselves in the World Series.

The way to get there is to add a few relievers to acquisitions Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario without sacrificing top prospects — the major league team has not earned the right to an addition that would cost Spencer Jones and Cam Schlittler.

Once Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. return from the injured list, the bullpen will be deeper. The Yankees do not have a particularly difficult schedule down the stretch, either, with plenty of games against the Twins, Orioles and White Sox.

There is, then, a path out of this morass. But Cashman and his seasoned lieutenants have seen many seasons to be fooled into feeling inspired by this year’s team. Sometimes even the best organizations have a down year.