The Pirates have granted utilityman Doug Mientkiewicz time to be with his wife, Jodi, who had heart surgery yesterday at Allegheny General Hospital.

The heart ailment, not disclosed, was discovered late last week.

"It's a tough situation," said John Russell, the Pirates' manager and a longtime friend of Mientkiewicz's family. "Obviously, our thoughts and prayers are with Doug and Jodi."

The team placed Mientkiewicz on Major League Baseball's bereavement list, reserved for personal matters. He is eligible to come off Friday in Milwaukee, but it is not known when he actually will do so.

To take Mientkiewicz's roster space, the Pirates recalled outfielder Nyjer Morgan from Class AAA Indianapolis.

Overall, Morgan was batting .298 there, including 22 for 53 in his past 15 games, with 14 runs, 14 RBIs and 12 steals. And this after struggling to a .217 average through 26 games with the Pirates early in the season.

"I wasn't used to the up and down, and I needed to just get back to having fun," Morgan said by phone from Indianapolis. "I know what I can do, what my style is, and I needed to let my game speak for itself."

Morgan had been a lock to be a September callup.