It has been a miserable first few months of the season for the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers were thought to have had one of the best rosters in all of baseball and what has come to the light instead is a mediocre lineup leading to one disappointment after another.

Currently, the Yankees have lost 7 of 10, sitting at 42-41 overall and ahead of only the Baltimore Orioles in the American League east. A lot of teams in that sort of tailspin with that record would be hedging towards selling at the MLB Trade Deadline. However, the Yankees are not your ordinary case.

With a payroll over $200,000,000 and only lower than the Dodgers in the ranks of baseball, New York finds itself in a bind. The Yankees at the moment don't appear to be a legitimate World Series contender and it's doubtful one or two trades would completely flip that narrative. But the Yankees have no choice. They must buy at the MLB Trade Deadline regardless of how things go over the next couple of weeks.

With a lineup that features DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez and plenty of others, the Yankees were supposed to have one of the most feared lineup in MLB. Instead, the Yankees rank 25th in runs scored in baseball and have struck out the 12th most across MLB so far this season.

Gerrit Cole has seemingly fallen off a cliff and an ERA that sat at 1.78 on May 28 is now 2.91 after he was shelled yet again, this time against the New York Mets on July 4.

All of this points towards a team that isn't going anywhere yet the Yankees brand has never been to sell and it won't be this year.

When you trade for Stanton, sign Cole to the big contract and have all the other expensive pieces as well, selling really isn't an option unless it's a complete and utter disaster. Some Yankees fans may feel that is the current state but at 42-41, New York can at least rationalize with themselves in that locker room and in that front office that all hope should not be lost.

The issue is New York is 10 games behind Boston and if the optimistic side wants to glance at the Wild Card picture, the Yankees trail two other teams in their own division alone. If they were in the AL West they'd be behind the Astros, Athletics, Mariners and tied with the Angels at 42-41.

There is still a ton of talent on this team and more than enough to keep the “glass half full” crowd feeling optimistic. In fact, even though New York will likely try to add at the deadline, the odds of them rallying and getting to the postseason this year is more reliant upon the current roster waking up and figuring it out than it is any trade pushing them to the promise land.

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For those who do believe the Yankees could sell, Hal Steinbrenner pretty much put that idea to rest on July 1.

“This team that we put together leaving Spring Training was a very, very good team,” Steinbrenner said. “They just haven't played up to their potential that I believe they still have. It's essentially the same team that we had [in 2019 and 2020]. These aren't aging players; these guys are in their primes. If I feel we're not good enough and we need another piece to be the championship-caliber team that we want to be and expect to be, then I'm going to seriously consider doing whatever I need to do.” – Hal Steinbrenner via MLB.com.

Steinbrenner is just as confused as others. With essentially the same team and most of it filled with young promising talent, how have the Yankees struggled this much? Regardless of what think, with many having already pointed the finger at manager Aaron Boone, Steinbrenner has his own thoughts.

“Make no mistake about it, the majority of the responsibility lies with the players,” Steinbrenner said. “They're the ones on the field. They're a group of very talented professional athletes that are playing this game at the highest level in the world. They need to fix this problem, because everyone — including our fan base — has had enough.” – Hal Steinbrenner.

Whether they target a bat like Starling Marte or a pitcher like Jose Berrios, many of the questions for the Yankees won't be answered with one or two trades but instead, the current cast of characters will largely hold the fate of New York's 2021 season.

The good news: there's still plenty of time to turn things around in the Bronx. The bad news: New York hasn't provided much to inject faith into the fan base that it will happen this year. But with a massive payroll and ownership willing to keep wheeling and dealing, expect the Yankees to be active at the MLB Trade Deadline; as buyers.