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Gutierrez DL-bound again
It seems that Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez is destined to spend the majority of his big-league career on the disabled list. The 30-year-old outfielder has been in and out of the M's lineup with leg issues for the last few weeks, but put himself on the sidelines on a more permanent basis Monday night, reports Greg Johns of MLB.com.
Guti strained his right hamstring diving for a bloop single off the bat of Chris Carter in the fourth inning Monday, and had to be helped off the field. The M's announced that Gutierrez is headed to disabled list for the fifth time in the last two seasons. The outfielder has missed more than half of the Mariners' games over the last two-plus seasons due to a wide variety of injuries.
Seattle has called outfielder Carlos Peguero up from Triple-A to take Gutierrez's rost spot.
Aybar may return Thursday
Erick Aybar ran on the field Monday for the first time since going to the DL with a bruised left heel on April 9, and is hopeful that he will return to the Angels' lineup when first eligible on Thursday, reports Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com.
The Halos' shortstop said that the heel is still bothering him some -- forcing him, for now, to hit only from the left side -- but that the pain much more manageable now. Brendan Harris and Andrew Romine have been filling in at short in Aybar's absence, but neither possess the fielding and hitting skills combo that make Aybar such an asset.
With Mike Trout moved down to the No. 2 spot in the lineup, Aybar could be slotted into the leadoff spot upon his return.
Soria suffers setback
Joakim Soria has suffered a setback in his rehab from Tommy John surgery and will not make his debut for the Rangers for another two months, reports T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com.
The good news is that nothing appears to be wrong with Soria's surgically repaired elbow. The bad news is that the right-hander's strained pectoral muscle will shut him down completely for two or three weeks. The setback now puts Soria in line for a July 1 return, delaying his debut in Texas' bullpen by more than a month.
