ST. LOUIS -- The Pirates will be without catcher Ryan Doumit for "at least four weeks," manager John Russell said today, because of his fractured left thumb.

And it could be longer.

Doumit, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list, had his thumb examined in Pittsburgh this morning by Dr. Mark Baratz, the team's hand specialist at Allegheny General Hospital, and the fracture at the tip was confirmed. The four weeks will be needed to heal the injury, Russell said, adding that it was not immediately clear when he might be able to begin a minor-league rehabilitation assignment, at that point or later.

"We'll miss Ryan terribly," Russell said. "But we've got the people to keep winning."

Doumit's thumb was fractured while trying to catch an errant Phil Dumatrait fastball last night.

To take Doumit's place, the Pirates promoted catcher Raul Chavez from Class AAA Indianapolis. He will be in uniform tonight against St. Louis.

Chavez, 35, is a .212 batter in 169 career major league games, most recently appearing in 16 for the Baltimore Orioles in 2006. He has a good defensive reputation, including one of the strongest arms of any catcher in professional baseball.

The selection of Chavez's contract from Indianapolis, where he batted .306 with three home runs and 13 RBIs, fills the Pirates' 40-man roster.

Also, management decided to reroute shortstop Jack Wilson to Indianapolis tomorrow to begin his minor-league rehabilitation, rather than Class AA Altoona as originally planned, because of wet grounds at Blair County Ballpark.

The decision was made by management this afternoon, after the infield at Blair County failed to drain and postponed a doubleheader.

Wilson will play four games with Indianapolis, at home tomorrow and Friday, then two more in Louisville, Ky., before his condition is reevaluated Monday.

Wilson has been out since April 3 because of a strained left calf.

Finally, the Pirates completed a trade with Tampa Bay to keep reliever Evan Meek, their Rule 5 draft pick who was removed from the 40-man roster 10 days ago. The Pirates will send the Rays an undisclosed amount of cash.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.