The Pittsburgh Pirates are in an odd spot in terms of the July 31st trade deadline. At 7 games out of first place in the National League Central, they are, in theory, still in contention. However, unless they take at least 3 of 4 from the first place Brewers this week that goes out the window.
Even if they drop out of contention, it would not benefit the Pirates to be sellers in the conventional sense. The team has a strong enough core that is controlled past this season to be able to compete next year. Due to this, if they fall out of contention they should look to move free agents to be such as John Jaso, Juan Nicasio, and Tony Watson, while they look to add players controlled past this season.