The Pirates' ownership will take the money saved by the four trades Monday and reallocate it to general manager Dave Littlefield's budget for 2007, managing general partner Kevin McClatchy said last night.

The net savings of $5.4 million, based on the remaining prorated salaries of players departing and arriving, could be put into the major-league payroll or into development or both.

"It's passed on to Dave as part of his fund for next year," McClatchy said. "He can spend it on scouting or signing Latin American players, or he can spend it all on the payroll in Pittsburgh. What the money does is give him more opportunities."

McClatchy said at the same time last year that the $750,000 savings from the Matt Lawton trade would go into the 2006 payroll, and the payroll increased by $12 million.

At season's outset, the Pirates' payroll was $47.9 million. Now, it projects to $42.5 million by the time it is done.

Which way it will go next year will not be determined until October, as usual. It is unlikely Major League Baseball will have a new collective bargaining agreement by then -- it expires Dec. 19, and talks tend to run to the last minute -- and it is possible, some believe, that a minimum payroll could be instituted and force low-spending teams such as the Pirates to make an increase. But McClatchy said he expected the payroll to be determined at its usual date.

"I don't think it will have any impact on when we announce it," he said.

McClatchy will not reveal which way payroll might go until that announcement, but he expressed hope that the Pirates will not need to be as reliant on the free-agent market this winter as they were last year when they signed outfielder Jeromy Burnitz ($6.7 million), third baseman Joe Randa ($4 million) and reliever Roberto Hernandez ($2.75 million). Burnitz and Randa are on the bench, and Hernandez was dealt Monday.

"I think it depends on what the holes look like," McClatchy said. "Do you have to fill it with a free agent or can Dave make a trade? In many ways, I feel we're better suited for a trade. But that really depends on the hole and the marketplace."

It also depends, he added, on how many more holes might get filled by season's end.

"The good news is that, as you look around our field, you see a third baseman in Freddy Sanchez and a catcher in Ronny Paulino, and those were two positions we hadn't been sure about. We still have to find out Chris Duffy in center field and Jose Bautista in right field. Those questions are still unanswered. But, if they work out, that obviously helps."