The way I hear it, the Pirates know what the Yankees are willing to do for Gerrit Cole and vice versa, but the discussions never became particularly heated. Movement will be needed from one side and/or both in the New Year to regenerate negotiations.

But that doesn’t mean the Yankees and Pirates shouldn’t deal, even if not for Cole. Josh Harrison has been mentioned as a secondary piece in talks and the way the Yankees are constituted perhaps he should be at minimum 1-A in importance.

If the season began today, the Yankees would return the rotation that helped them to the brink of the World Series last year — Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, CC Sabathia, Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka. They also can have Chad Green and/or Adam Warren stretch out as starters in spring plus Chance Adams, Luis Cessa and Domingo German provide depth with the possibility that Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo and/or Justus Sheffield could help at some point during the season.

Would another starter, such as Cole or Patrick Corbin, be beneficial with so many red flags in the rotation? Of course.

But, right now, the Yankees have no sure things at second or third base. The most experienced guy is Ronald Torreyes, who has 52 career starts at second and 43 at third. Miguel Andujar and, especially, Gleyber Torres are big talents.

Let’s remember, though, that even as terrific as Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge turned out, their initial forays in the majors were poor. Just about every terrific player needed to be optioned back to the minors early in their career. And, right now, the Yankees do not have much protection for Andujar and Torres, who did not play after June 17 last year because he needed Tommy John surgery on his non-throwing elbow. The other choices are Thairo Estrada and Tyler Wade.

“We are not prioritizing any one thing, we are ready to go with what we have got,” general manager Brian Cashman told The Post. “We are open-minded to opportunities whether they be positionally or pitching. We are not prioritizing to add to the youth competition at third and second over the rotation option. We will take any opportunity to improve the club. If it makes enough sense, we’ll execute it.”

Cashman said part of trading Starlin Castro and Chase Headley this offseason was a belief in the young group that remains. He noted a lot of teams decide to go with young players “for better or worse.” But these Yankees have championship aspirations and if the youth doesn’t work instantly they would have huge holes from the outset.

The team should have a powerhouse lineup and bullpen, so just having players at second and third who can field the positions and not be automatic outs would be enough — for example, if Torreyes was at second and someone like Yunel Escobar at third until the youngsters are ready, I think the Yankees would be fine.

Cashman also reiterated “that is not going to change” as far as the Yankees vow to go below the $197 million luxury tax threshold. Thus, it might be difficult to shoehorn Todd Frazier back on the team.

Here are a few of my thoughts on who might be attainable and help the Yankees:

1. Harrison, Logan Forsythe (Dodgers), Jedd Gyorko (Cardinals), Yangervis Solarte (Padres) — After the 2015 season, the Yankees turned Adam Warren into Castro. I wonder if they could do something similar here. Warren is due about $3 million via arbitration, so he would help offset dollars coming back.

Harrison is signed for $10 million in 2018 and has options for 2019 and ’20, but for luxury-tax purposes he costs just $6.825 million. Forsythe would be $7.5M, Gyorko would be roughly $5.5 million and the switch-hitting Solarte $3.75 million. Forsythe is free after 2018, Gyorko is signed through 2019 with a 2020 option and Solarte has 2019 and ’20 options. All have experience playing at least second and third.

The Pirates also have David Freese (who has a 2019 option), who is mostly a third baseman but would provide some first base insurance for Greg Bird and also Adam Frazier, a lefty-swinging youngster who plays just about everywhere but would cost plenty more than Warren. The Cardinals could move Kolten Wong (under control through 2021) or maybe even Matt Carpenter, who counts $8.67 million a year toward the luxury tax.

2. Escobar, Eduardo Nunez, Neil Walker — Escobar is mostly a third baseman at this point, but the free agent probably would cost less than Nunez or Walker and, despite a rep as a flamboyant player, Escobar is viewed as a hard worker. Brandon Phillips also is a free agent, but I never sense the Yankees like him much. Does Walker, who the Yanks attempted to land last August, or Todd Frazier ever drop to a one-year offer that is palatable to the Yankees?

3. Joe Panik (Giants), Brandon Drury (Diamondbacks) — Drury is a guy the Yankees have had interest in. But Panik, I believe, is a great fit for the Yankees because they are likely to be a big strikeout team and Panik is hard to fan, plus his lefty power would play better in the Bronx. The Giants have been hesitant to move him.

4. Jed Lowrie (A’s), Martin Prado (Diamondbacks) — Lowrie is due $6 million in his walk year, but the Yankees have seemed to have questions about whether he is temperamentally built for New York. The Yanks know that Prado is fine in New York, but I don’t believe the Marlins would eat enough of the two years at $28.5 million left to make him appetizing for the Yankees.

5. Jose Reyes, Darwin Barney, Danny Espinosa, Cliff Pennington, Trevor Plouffe — If nothing else materializes (and perhaps even if it does), assume the Yankees will try to sign a minor league deal or two with veterans who offer some level of insurance. Reyes is the highlight name here, but would seem more earmarked to return to the Mets. The intriguing guy is Espinosa, whose defense remains stellar. Espinosa has shown power in the past even while striking out too much and wielding a low batting average.