The Seattle Mariners got a scare earlier in the week when Franklin Gutierrez left Spring Training with a pectoral injury. Not only did the club not know the severity of the injury, but there were no legitimate in-house options capable of patrolling center field the way Gutierrez can. Fortunately for the M's, the injured outfielder returned to camp optimistic about his recovery and getting back on the field.
Franklin Gutierrez back at #Mariners camp, says he's glad he didn't need surgery and optimistic about relatively quick recovery.
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) March 3, 2012
This has to be very encouraging news for manager Eric Wedge and will give him much more flexibility with the lineup once he returns to the field. Gutierrez will undoubtably need some time to rest, recover and get back into shape. No timetable has been set for the regular season and it will be at least a month before Gutierrez can swing a bat, but a return in early-May seems reasonable assuming there are no further setbacks.
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