The Seattle Mariners were given a bit of bad news on Thursday as it was reported that center fielder Franklin Gutierrez has indeed a slight tear in his pectoral muscle, that will leave him riding the pine for at least the next month or so.
It isn't completely panic mode yet, though the mood inside the clubhouse took a considerable turn for the worse once the news came down that Gutierrez was going to be out for some time. Not only that, Seattle now has to figure out just what the heck they are going to do in center field, though they have some options already on their squad.
There would be lots of ways they could go, from moving Ichiro to center, to playing Chone Figgins in CF, to switching Dustin Ackley to that position (which he played in college), to hoping Trayvon Robinson has moved past his struggles of last season. None are perfect solutions, and some I don't think they would consider for very long (like an Ichiro move). But I'm sure everything would be on the table in a worst-case scenario, including a trade.
There is a long list of possible free agent center fielders but at the moment it would be the best case scenario to try and fill the gap with players they already have and hope Gutierrez can return earlier than later from the injury.
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