It doesn't look like Seattle center fielder Franklin Gutierrez will return to the lineup anytime soon, as his stomach problems continue to keep him off the field. As Greg Johns (via MLB.com) reports, the Mariners are turning elsewhere for answers:
Mariners’ Franklin Gutierrez Heading To Mayo Clinic
Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez will be sent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., on Tuesday as the club continues searching for answers to the troublesome stomach illness that has sidelined him since March 19.
After breaking through in 2009, his first season as an every-day player, Gutierrez got off to a good start in 2010. But he began suffering stomach problems in the middle of the season, and his hitting slumped in the second half. Gutierrez played in only nine spring-training games, and “said last week he’d lost 15 pounds.”
In Gutierrez's absence, Ryan Langerhans and Michael Saunders have been playing center field. As a group, Seattle's center fielders have batted .167 and presumably fallen well short of Gutierrez's Gold Glove defense.
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