The Pirates' news on the pitching front was as bright as could have been expected yesterday, with starters Ian Snell and Phil Dumatrait each learning his arm injury is not serious.

But general manager Neal Huntington still might go outside the organization for pitching help.

First, to the injuries ...

Snell, who felt pain in his right elbow Sunday, has medial epicondylitis, commonly called golfer's elbow. It is the simple overuse of a muscle, and rest and icing are all that is prescribed. The arthrogram, performed at Allegheny General Hospital by the team physician, Dr. Patrick DeMeo, showed no damage to the ulnar collateral ligament, near where the pain was occurring.

Snell almost surely will miss his scheduled start Friday, if only because the arthrogram involves injecting dye into the elbow and prevents throwing for 48 hours. But he probably will not miss more.

Dumatrait, who felt mounting pain in his left shoulder this month, has bursitis in the rotator cuff. Bursitis is the inflammation of the bursa sacs that facilitate movement of joints all through the body. A magnetic resonance imaging scan -- completely non-invasive -- showed no damage to the cuff.

Dumatrait remains on target to pitch July 5, the first day he can come off the 15-day disabled list.

"It worked out very well on both counts," Huntington said. "We wanted to err on the side of caution with both, and we plan to keep doing that."

All of which leaves this as the Pirates' rotation picture for the next two weeks: They likely will need someone to take Snell's turn Friday, and they definitely need someone Saturday in place of Dumatrait. From there, they play five games until Dumatrait's return, with a day off in the middle. That could allow them to use just Snell and their three healthy starters, in some order, over that span.

"Nothing's decided yet," Huntington said.

Huntington reiterated that he will look at internal and external options to address the pitching.

Internally, John Van Benschoten, the top performer at Class AAA Indianapolis, is problematic because he exited early from his most recent start with right shoulder stiffness. Ty Taubenheim, Jimmy Barthmaier and a new name, Jason Davis, are being considered.

Another option, though his name has not come up, might end up being Yoslan Herrera, 27, a Cuban defector and top pitcher at Class AA Altoona. He has a 3.12 ERA that outshines his 4-7 record, and he is coming off four strong starts. Moreover, his next turn to pitch for the Curve is Friday.

Huntington did not discuss his external talks, as per standard policy, but it is believed the Pirates are unlikely to make a big splash, through a trade or the waiver wire.

The biggest name available is Freddy Garcia, a free agent coming back from shoulder surgery who is working out for several teams and could pitch the final two months. The Pirates, despite some talks with Garcia in the offseason, are not interested.