The Pittsburgh Pirates have a couple of questions to answer in the short and long terms of the 2013 Season; will they add anybody to their already talented roster? More importantly, will they really contend throughout the second half and make their first playoff appearance since 1992? These next 10 days, as MLB points out, will be crucial for the Pirates are they look to make a move in both the standings and trade market prior to the deadline. 

The Standings       
Though 20 years is a lot of time, the 2013 Pirates are making the wait worthwhile. They look more than capable of competing in October and thanks to their pitching, they look to advance deep into the playoffs. Currently, the Pirates are two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The baseball gods are making things truly interesting as the Cardinals and Pirates get set to play five games in four days. 

Luckily for the Pirates, they play teams under .500, but they will be tough. The Pirates travel to faceoff agaisnt the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins for this next week before returning home to face the Cardinals. A five-game sweep by the Cardinals would be the worst case scenario, but as the deadline will come to a close after the crucial series, will the Pirates pull of a trade that could help them win against the Red Birds and carry them into the playoffs? 

The Deadline  
The series against the Cardinals will take place from July 29-Aug. 1. The trade deadline is July 31. The Pirates don't have to wait until the last minute to pull the trigger on any deal. In fact, the trade that might make the most sense for the Pirates involves Alex Rios. You can check out the link and see why Rios makes so much sense for the Pirates especially after Pirates' GM Neal Huntington had this to say: 
"We've never gone in with a premeditated view on rentals, whether we want or don't want them.  We've gone into the Deadline to impact that year's club as best we could. Now, while it does not make a ton of sense for us to give up an elite prospect for a two-month rental, you've always got to have the majority of attention on today."  

Nate Schierholtz is another veteran outfielder rumored to be drawing interest from the Pirates. 

The hole in the Pirates' offense is coming from right field. They are platooning the bats of Jose Tabata and Travis Snider in right field. While Tabata's bat has come to life in recent days, the Pirates still lack power out of the position. Tabata only has two home runs while Snider has hit three. 

The Pirates have a talented farm system, that's for sure. The key here will be for them to wisely retain valuable players, while simultaneously trading for something of quality as the Pirates look to regain their winning ways after losing two of three to the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.