Jul 27, 2010 By Herald Standard Staff 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – Neal Huntington will wear out his cell phone in the next five days, making calls and sending text messages at a rapid-fire pace. Like the other 29 men in his position, the Pirates’ general manager will be looking to improve his organization between now and the 4 p.m. deadline on Saturday for major-league teams to make trades without securing waivers on players.

However, this final week of July will almost certainly be different than the last two for Huntington after trading a former Rookie of the Year in Jason Bay in 2008 and a former batting champion in Freddy Sanchez in 209.

Most likely, any deals Huntington makes will be minor. He might trade some of his secondary relievers such as left-hander Javier Lopez and right-hander D.J. Carrasco, getting no more than a second-tier prospect in return.

Huntington really has no urgency to make any big trades this year.

The Pirates started the season with a $34 million payroll, so he is not forced to slash payroll, even working for the most cost-conscious franchise north of Miami. The Pirates also feel they have increased the number of prospects in their farm system to the point where they don’t feel the need to trade every veteran player for a youngster.

Also playing a role in the Pirates almost certainly being non-factors at the deadline is that the two players generating the most interest – right-handed set-up relievers Joel Hanrahan and Evan Meek – are considered all but untouchable by Huntington.

While the Pirates keep saying they might bring closer Octavio Dotel back next year by exercising his $4.5 million club option, that isn’t likely to happen. Instead, the Pirates will almost surely promote Hanrahan or Meek – my money says Meek – to the job to start in 2011.

Detroit and Philadelphia have joined the Dodgers as suitors for left-handed starter Paul Maholm, but the chances of him being dealt are slim for a couple of reasons.

One is that Maholm, while far from ace material, is the Pirates’ only reliable starting pitcher. Furthermore, he is considered a fallback plan by all three clubs as the Phillies are eyeing Houston’s Roy Oswalt and the Tigers and Dodgers have made Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly their top trade priority.

The Pirates’ asking price for Maholm is said to be a starting pitcher who can move into the major-league rotation now along with a high-level prospect. It’s doubtful someone will meet that price, as Maholm is a No. 4 starter on a contender.

The gulf between the Pirates and contenders is also why interest in Dotel has been minimal. Most teams in the pennant race see him as a sixth-inning or seventh-inning pitcher rather than a closer or set-up man.

Meanwhile, there is negligible interest in the Pirates’ veteran position players. That is understandable if you have watched them try to hit or catch the ball this season.

Thus, no one will have to worry about harming their eyesight while squinting at agate type to catch up on Pirates’ trades.

Herald-Standard sports correspondent John Perrotto is editor-in-chief of BaseballProspectus.com.