MILWAUKEE _ Pirates catcher Chris Stewart had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday and will need six to eight weeks to recover.
Dr. James Andrews performed the procedure.
Manager Clint Hurdle did not elaborate on the procedure except to say Stewart avoided microfracture surgery, a complicated procedure with a longer recovery time.
"I spoke with Chris (Tuesday)," Hurdle said. "Even though he was still in the recovery room he had it all mapped out and planned out."
Stewart, 34, began having problems with the knee in June, when he took a beating that included two foul balls off his left foot. He went on the disabled list because of knee pain in July and did not return until September. The Pirates put him on the 60-day DL, ending his season, last week.
Stewart and head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said during the first DL stint that examinations of the knee revealed degenerative damage he hoped to play through before having surgery to repair it after his playing days were over.
"He felt very optimistic and positive about being able to get up and get going sooner than anticipated, putting in a full recovery time and then another full period of rehab and build back to strength," Hurdle said. "He's in a pretty good place right now. We're optimistic."
Dr. Andrews performed surgery on Stewart's other knee during spring training in 2014, shaving down the meniscus.
In 113 plate appearances this season, Stewart hit .214/.319/.286 with his first home run since 2013. He threw out 27 percent of runners attempting to steal. He is under contract through 2017 with a club option for '18.
Eric Fryer and Jacob Stallings are the backup catchers on the roster behind Francisco Cervelli.
