Franklin

Gutierrez

Gutierrez, 21, has been impressive in his first spring training, displaying an outstanding arm. One Dodgers’ official compared him to a young Moises Alou. He’ll begin the season in the minors but is a good long-term prospect.

He’ll join Jason Cooper, who had eight spring homers, and Ben Francisco, who hit “something like .450.” GM Mark Shapiro said he’s not sure what the plan will be for Gutierrez, acquired for Milton Bradley. “The Dodgers’ plan was for him to start the season at Double-A then move up to Triple-A and be ready to play in the majors next season,” Shapiro said. “But I don’t know when.”

We’d say Gutierrez will get a look in Cleveland later in the season, but the team is so full of outfielders and outfield prospects that it’s hard to say. Grady Sizemore is ahead of Gutierrez.

By trading Todd Hollandsworth and opening up a spot for Gutierrez, the Indians now have a right-handed-hitting outfielder to platoon with Shin-Soo Choo in right field. Gutierrez could also get a start per week in left as the Indians try to determine whether he should be in their plans for 2007. He played quite well at the end of his last stint with the Indians, hitting .350 in his final 40 at-bats, and is a fine defender. He’s going to prove to be pretty useful eventually. AL-only leaguers will want to keep an eye on him.

“We’ll probably end up calling up Gutierrez, though that’s not 100 percent certain,” manager Eric Wedge said. “He’s done a real good job down there. He can play all over the outfield, and he had some experience up here last year.” If he gets playing time Gutierrez is a solid AL-only pickup for the short term.

Gutierrez, who was hitting .288/.374/.415 for Buffalo, should at least play against lefties while Casey Blake is out. How much time he sees versus right-handers could depend on the severity of Jason Michaels’ ankle sprain. If it looks like Michaels will miss a week or two, Gutierrez would likely have some short-term value in AL-only leagues.

Gutierrez was 10-for-33 with a homer in his latest stint with the Indians. Since a 3-for-26 start, he’s hit .329 in 73 at-bats. He’ll be worthy of some playing time in September.

Mariners skipper Eric Wedge told reporters in spring camp Wednesday that Gutierrez will miss “the next few days and maybe more,” adding that there’s “considerable concern” about his status going forward. The 29-year-old center fielder suffered the pectoral injury Tuesday while making a throw during a drill. He underwent an MRI recently but the results aren’t done being reviewed.

It was a rather significant step forward for the 29-year-old center fielder, who was diagnosed at the end of February with a torn right pectoral muscle. “It went well,” said Mariners trainer Rick Griffin. “You could tell he was a little hesitant at first, he thought he might feel it (pectoral muscle) but about half way through he let go and took a good swing and said it felt great.” Gutierrez is expected to make his regular season debut by late April.

Gutierrez suffered the injury while making a throw Tuesday in Mariners camp and flew to Seattle on Wednesday morning for a full examination from team physicians. He’ll be sidelined for the next four weeks, and is certain to open the regular season on the 15-day disabled list. The 29-year-old could even be out until late May. Michael Saunders and Casper Wells are likely to share time in center field in his absence.