Figgins ready to improve upon last season for Mariners

PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) - Chone Figgins is putting in extra work this spring after struggling in his first two seasons with the Seattle Mariners.

It appears to be paying off.

The veteran infielder has been taking a lot of groundballs at third base, shortstop and second base.

His fielding isn't what will likely put Figgins in the spotlight in Seattle, though. He is expected to start the season as the Mariners' new leadoff man, succeeding Ichiro Suzuki, who held the spot for 11 seasons.

Suzuki will hit third in manager Eric Wedge's batting order. Figgins, who batted .188 in 81 games last season, doesn't see his new role as a fresh start for an underachieving player. The difference for him is that he's back from a hip flexor injury that cost him the last two months of last season.

"I'm healthy this year," Figgins said. "Healthy, and being able to get back out here and play baseball like I can. It's not so much about the leadoff spot, it's about, you know, I had a rough year with injuries and stuff and now I'm back healthy."

Early indications are that Figgins' plate discipline and patience have improved. Two intrasquad games are a long way from the regular season, but in those two games Figgins, batting leadoff, has walked three times in five plate appearances, scored three runs and drove in one. His first at-bat last Friday resulted in a 10-pitch walk.

Figgins, often a leadoff man with the Angels, walked a career high 101 times with Los Angeles in 2009, the season before he signed a four-year, $36 million contract with the Mariners as a free agent. He's struggled overall offensively since.

"He had his greatest success in the big leagues in the leadoff spot," Wedge said. "He understood the role and what we're looking for from that spot. He's had a tough couple of years, it's my job to try and put these guys in the best position to succeed. I feel like that's where it is for him. If he can lead off for us like I believe he can, and get on base and score runs, that's what we're looking for."

Wedge seeks to put the best lineup he can on the field, and to that end, talked with his staff and general manager Jack Zduriencik about moving Suzuki down in the order and giving Figgins every shot to earn the leadoff spot.

"It's about one through nine. If you look at the impact he (Suzuki) could have in the middle of our lineup, it's greater than the impact he could have at the top of our lineup," Wedge said. "It's that simple. If we can get a Chone Figgins going, it has a tremendous impact."

Figgins isn't looking at 2012 as a bounce-back year, though it's hard to see it as otherwise.

"It's just, I'm ready to play," he said.

Gutierrez back in Seattle with injury: Seattle Mariners center fielder Franklin Gutierrez will miss at least four weeks and likely longer after sustaining a partial tear of his right pectoral muscle.

Gutierrez was injured Tuesday while making a throw from the outfield during a drill. He flew to Seattle on Wednesday and, after an MRI and a meeting with team doctors, the diagnosis was confirmed. Gutierrez will be held out of all baseball activities for at least a month and be re-evaluated at the end of March. He will miss all the spring training games and the Mariners' season-opening series against Oakland in Japan.

Earlier on Wednesday, Wedge said there was "considerable concern" about Gutierrez's injury. Gutierrez was examined in Seattle by Dr. Edward Khalfayan. Wedge said it appeared to be an uncommon injury.

The Mariners said Gutierrez will be treated non-surgically in the hopes he can return this season.

Gutierrez was being counted on to bounce back from a disappointing 2011 season, when he battled stomach problems that caused him to play most of the season underweight. He gained nearly 20 pounds in the offseason and his health was one of the big stories in the early days of spring training.

Gutierrez was limited to 92 games last season and hit .224 with one home run. In his first season with Seattle in 2009, Gutierrez batted .283 and had 18 homers.