Report: OF Gutierrez to re-sign with M's
Free agent outfielder Franklin Gutierrez might be staying put.
The often-injured veteran is close to signing a one-year, major league deal with the Seattle Mariners, Fox Sports reported Tuesday night.
Gutierrez hit the free agent market when the Mariners declined his $7 million option after last season.
The 30-year-old appeared in 41 games in 2013, batting .248 with a .273 on-base percentage, a .503 slugging percentage, 10 home runs and 24 RBIs. Gutierrez was sidelined for portions of the season due to hamstring issues, part of his on-going difficulty in remaining healthy.
Since playing 153 and 152 games for the Mariners in 2009 and 2010, respectively, he failed to top 92 games in a season the next four years.
Over a nine-year major league career split between the Cleveland Indians and the Mariners, Gutierrez has a .256 career average with a .306 on-base percentage, a .391 slugging percentage, 67 homers and 279 RBIs in 762 games. He earned a Gold Glove with Seattle in 2010.
The Mariners' outfield is crowded with the recent additions of Corey Hart and Logan Morrison, plus holdovers Michael Saunders and Dustin Ackley.
Ackley, a former second baseman, finished last season in the outfield, and second base is no longer available to him with the arrival of Robinson Cano.
