BRADENTON, Fla. -- In the span of four months, the middle finger of Kip Wells' pitching hand has been through an operation, laser treatments, ultrasound, acupuncture and even a few buckets of beans and rice.

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Still, the prognosis for a full recovery remains no more clearly defined than the list of treatments.

And that is nothing less than the Pirates' greatest worry in the voluntary minicamp that opened yesterday and beyond.

"Kip is big for us right now," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We need for the guy to be healthy enough to make 32 starts. Our biggest concern for us going into spring training is having a healthy Kip Wells."

Wells, the Pirates' top right-handed starter, will throw off a mound today at Pirate City for the first time since having carpal tunnel release surgery on his finger Oct. 5. That procedure, considered minor, was aimed at eliminating the numbness he had felt for much of the 2004 season.

The numbness is gone, Wells said, but he cannot be sure it will stay that way until the elbow pain that hindered him in the same arm last year is gone, too. He did not pitch after Sept. 5, when his elbow tightened and limited him to a 13-pitch outing at Houston, and finished the season 5-7 with a 4.55 earned run average in 24 starts.

"The hand thing, hopefully, is something that's behind me," Wells said. "But that numbness would only show itself when all of the symptoms were combined, so we'll see."

Pitching coach Spin Williams described the elbow as a more significant issue than the finger and called it a "question mark." He reiterated that the team does not expect to feel certain about Wells' status until the middle of spring training.

When Wells was asked if the finger or elbow is troubling him more, he replied, "Neither is."

Wells has been on a rehabilitation program since shortly after the surgery, and he began throwing in December at his home in Houston. He also has participated in several prescribed techniques, including the lasers and ultrasound -- "really state-of-the-art type stuff," he called it -- to stimulate circulation within the finger. Moving his hand through the buckets of beans and rice is designed to strengthen it.

He said he was heartened by having the surgery.

"It's something to hang your hat on. I didn't want to just go home and say, 'Well, hopefully, it will solve itself.' But, like all the doctors have told me, we're not looking for something that's totally going to solve the problem because we're not sure it's totally going to disappear. As long as I can deal with it and manage it. ... Hey, if it's cold outside and my hand is cold, so be it. As long as I can pitch with it and be productive."

Wells worked out with the other 28 pitchers in minicamp yesterday and showed no difficulty in completing his assigned round of long tosses, including some from 180-200 feet.

"I don't have any reason not to be encouraged," he said. "I'm pain-free when I'm throwing, and that's the ultimate test. If I have soreness after I'm throwing -- which I've had but not at any particular time -- that's fine. You're going to go through some muscle-type soreness. I'm progressing the way I should be."