According to Chris Cotillo on Twitter, Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Chris Stewart had a minor procedure done on his knee today and no further surgery is required. Cotillo says that the recovery time is unknown at the time, but he speculates that it could be 4-6 weeks due to the fact it was minor surgery and went well. Stewart injured his right knee on March 12th in a game against the Minnesota Twins
That is good news for the Pirates, who now won’t need a long-term fill-in for Stewart. While the Pirates wanted to keep Tony Sanchez in Indianapolis this season and give him a full year at AAA, that estimated timetable would still allow him to get plenty of regular playing time in Indianapolis, even if he goes north with the team on Opening Day to serve as Russell Martin’s backup.
For now, Nevin Ashley and Omir Santos are both still in Major League camp as non-roster invitees. Should the Pirates decide to not go with Sanchez on Opening Day, they do have experienced options already in the organization. Santos has spent parts of five seasons in the majors, while Ashley has eight years of minor league experience and is a strong defensive catcher.