Although he is holding his cards to the final hours, Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield is expected to make two or more trades today.

Most likely to go are first baseman Sean Casey, possibly to the Los Angeles Angels, and reliever Roberto Hernandez, who seems all but bound for the New York Yankees. The others being shopped are starter Kip Wells, third baseman Joe Randa and outfielders Craig Wilson and Jeromy Burnitz.

Because all can become free agents this fall and none falls into the upper tier of the trading market, expectations are low for the returns.

It is possible, though, that the Pirates will give up a young pitcher -- reliever John Grabow, perhaps -- in their continuing pursuit of Colorado Rockies first baseman Ryan Shealy.

But can all or even some of that get done in such little time? Major League Baseball's non-waiver deadline is 4 p.m. today.

"Obviously, if you've got five minutes, it's different than this amount of time," Littlefield said yesterday afternoon. "It's not like you're just starting from scratch. For the most part, it's a matter of working with the same teams on the same names. Maybe it's going to take a couple more dollars. Or adding a player. Or giving up a player you didn't want to give up."

Littlefield described himself as being in "real serious" talks with 8-12 teams and said he spoke with one counterpart five times yesterday morning alone.

"I'm sure we'll make a deal or two. It's hard to say which teams and which players, but it's got to be something that's a fair return for what we have to offer."

The Pirates' highest-profile piece, to be sure, is Casey.

The Angels and Oakland Athletics have inquired about him, but the Pirates did not have a scout attending Oakland's games over the weekend while the Athletics were showcasing young talent.

The Angels? General manager Bill Stoneman's attention has been consumed by chasing bigger fish in the Baltimore Orioles' Miguel Tejada and Washington Nationals' Alfonso Soriano, and that could be holding up a deal with the Pirates.

Without being specific, Littlefield indicated he might be waiting for a trickle-down effect.

"There is the possibility that having some of those bigger names out there affects other trades, backup deals, that type of thing," he said. "A lot of times, you'll see that slows down discussions about other things."

In that case, anyone still talking with the Yankees -- as the Pirates are -- now should be able to accelerate the process after New York's huge pickup of outfielder Bobby Abreu and starter Cory Lidle from the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday.

The Yankees had been asking about Hernandez, Wilson and reliever Salomon Torres, but that was thought to be down to Hernandez as of last night. Abreu fills their wish for a bat, and Torres remains unlikely to be dealt because of his reliability and long-term, affordable contract.

There have been tangible signs, though, that Wilson will go somewhere.

He has not taken one at-bat in the past three games, bypassed even in circumstances where it seemed clear he would be used. With Casey missing the past two games to injury, Pirates manager Jim Tracy filled first base with Jose Hernandez and transplanted third baseman Randa. Yesterday, when the game went 10 innings, Wilson, the franchise leader in pinch-hit home runs, was the only position player left on the bench.

The friction between Wilson and management is becoming increasingly palpable, and a deal might be the only answer.

Wells has drawn limited interest. The Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds are at the forefront of teams hungry for starting pitching, but no clear suitor has emerged. The New York Mets had been watching Wells but lost interest, apparently because his velocity remains about 3 mph below peak form.

The talks regarding Colorado's Shealy seem to have dwindled to three teams, the Pirates, Orioles and Kansas City Royals, with the latter the apparent front-runner. The Rockies are asking for a young, left-handed pitcher, plus another player.

Any players not dealt today still can be moved by Aug. 31, the significant difference being that waivers must be cleared. Such trades tend to be limited to players whose contracts are deemed too high to claim off waivers.

"It's obviously more restrictive," Littlefield said. "But it's still fairly common."

Of the Pirates on the block, Casey is making $8.5 million, Hernandez $2.75 million, Wells $4.15 million, Randa $4 million and Burnitz $6 million.

Asked if some of his players might fall into the August category, Littlefield replied, "I don't feel that would be a problem for us."

None of the five veterans on the block has been offered a contract extension by the Pirates.