Gutierrez to ease back into Mariners’ lineup after injuries

PEORIA, Ariz. – There will be a fair amount of conditioning that Seattle Mariners outfielder Franklin Gutierrez can do during the next month while his torn pectoral muscle heals enough to resume baseball-related activities.

But medical experts say the extent and type of tear Gutierrez experienced in the right pectoral muscle will play the ultimate role in determining how much time he’ll miss. There are two types of pectoral tears: one in which the pectoral tendon separates from the arm’s bone; in the other the tearing occurs in a region where the tendon and muscle tissue meet.

The Mariners have not gone into specifics on how serious the tearing was or which type of injury Gutierrez suffered while making throws Tuesday morning in a drill. Dr. Jeffrey Spang, an orthopedic specialist from the University of North Carolina, said Thursday that – based on the team’s stated four-week timetable before Gutierrez can resume baseball activity – it will probably take beyond mid-April before he’s able to throw at an elite level again.

“Obviously, they will move him through the process of rehab as quickly as they feel possible,” Spang said. “But it’s going to take a few weeks at a minimum to get back into playing-type condition.”

And by that, he means before Gutierrez can throw like he was trying to do Tuesday.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said Wednesday the plan would be to ease Gutierrez back into baseball activities at the end of the month and monitor him on a week-by-week basis.