Earlier this month, the Pirates had enough starting pitching that they traded Dave Williams and Mark Redman without breaking a bead of sweat.

Yesterday, they parted with another starter by allowing Josh Fogg to become a free agent, leaving them with Zach Duke, Oliver Perez, Kip Wells, Paul Maholm and, in all likelihood, newcomer Victor Santos as the fifth piece in their rotation. Santos was 4-13 for the Milwaukee Brewers last season, then was released.

Still, Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield did not sound worried.

"I'm comfortable with where we're at right now," Littlefield said by phone from Mexico, where he is visiting Perez. "You never say never when it comes to adding pitching depth. But we have some options that we feel are good enough that, relative to Fogg, keeping him just didn't make sense."

One reason for Littlefield's lack of concern, he said, is that Ian Snell, who has shown promise in the minors, could compete with Santos for the fifth job. So could another prospect, Sean Burnett, who impressed as a rookie in 2004 before two arm surgeries cost him all of last season. Burnett could be available, Littlefield said, as early as June.

"The depth of young pitching is still there," he said. "There will be protection."

Fogg was the only one of the Pirates' six arbitration-eligible players who was not tendered a contract offer by the midnight Tuesday deadline, immediately making him a free agent. Those who were tendered and remain the Pirates' property are Perez, Wells, reliever Ryan Vogelsong and outfielders Craig Wilson and Jody Gerut.

Littlefield described his reasons for not tendering Fogg as diminishing performance and potentially decreasing value for the dollar.

Fogg, 29, had a combined 33-31 record in his first three seasons with the Pirates, but he dropped to 6-11 with a 5.05 earned run average and 27 home runs allowed last season. He lost his starting job in early September and was relegated to middle relief.

"In the second half of 2004, we thought he was able to improve some things mechanically and get a little more sink on the ball," Littlefield said. "Overall, though, we weren't able to recapture that over the course of 2005 for any extended period of time."

Fogg made $2.15 million and likely would have received a salary in the range of $3 million for next season through the player-friendly arbitration process. That would have been a high price for a middle reliever, had Fogg not regained his place in the rotation.

"We felt it would make sense to use those dollars toward other areas," Littlefield said.

The Pirates are permitted to re-sign Fogg out of free agency, but Littlefield made clear they had no intention of doing so. He said the team had no contract negotiations with Fogg in the weeks leading up to the Tuesday deadline.

Dan Horwits, Fogg's California-based agent, confirmed there were no talks, but he added he had not been sure until the Tuesday deadline which way management would go.

"We've been getting mixed signals the past couple of months from the Pirates," he said. "Really, nothing surprises me or Josh."

Horwits said three teams already had made contract offers to Fogg by early yesterday afternoon.

"Josh will be fine. He'll miss the people he knew in Pittsburgh, but the interest we've seen already gives him something positive to look forward to."

The window for eligible players to file for arbitration -- a procedure considered a formality in the industry -- is Jan. 4-13. The key date is Jan. 17, when teams and players must exchange salary figures for arbitration hearings. That gives the Pirates about a month to reach settlements with their five and avoid the process.

Based on precedent, Perez ($381,000 last season) will get a raise to the range of $2 million, and the others who are first-time eligible, Vogelsong ($332,000) and Gerut ($356,200), will receive roughly $1 million. Wells ($3,175,000) and Wilson ($3 million), each coming off a subpar season, will receive roughly $4 million.

Fogg was one of 50 arbitration-eligible players around Major League Baseball who were not tendered Tuesday, growing the pool of free agents. But that group seemed to hold little allure for Littlefield.

"As far as the names right now, I don't see anyone who will fill our needs for a bigger bat in right field or third base," he said. "But there are always possibilities as far as what we can do for our depth in the outfield, and we're always looking for another arm in the bullpen. As far as extra-type players, there are a few in that group."

One might be Eric Byrnes, a scrappy outfielder the Pirates attempted to acquire from Oakland last winter, but they were rebuffed when the Athletics asked for reliever Mike Gonzalez in return.

Byrnes, 29, went on to play for three teams last season and batted .a career-low .226 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 126 games. The Baltimore Orioles, his most recent employer, did not tender him after he made $2.2 million.