GLENDALE, Ariz. — The first time Franklin Gutierrez put on a Dodgers uniform he had a vision of how his career would go.
“When you’re a rookie, you think you can play 20 years in the big leagues,” he said.
Gutierrez is halfway there. But it hasn’t been easy.
A 21-year-old prospect when the Dodgers traded him to the Cleveland Indians for Milton Bradley on the eve of the season opener in April 2004, Gutierrez developed into one of the best defensive centerfielders in baseball, even winning a Gold Glove with the Seattle Mariners in 2010.
He is not that player anymore. Health became the overriding narrative in Gutierrez’s career following that Gold Glove season. Hamstring injuries were an occupational hazard. But a difficult-to-diagnose arthritic condition in his spine — ankylosing spondylitis — frustrated Gutierrez, robbing him of an entire season and even making him consider giving up baseball.
“Three years ago, I was about to retire because I couldn’t handle anything,” he said.
“In the beginning with the disease, it was painful in my whole body. Bad joints, stiffness. It was really bad. I was about to retire. Then I decided to give the medicine time to work on my body. That’s why I took a year off in 2014. And it works. I decided to keep doing my thing and prepare better.”
It wasn’t as simple as Gutierrez makes it sound now. There is no cure for ankylosing spondylitis (AS). It can be treated with medication, but Gutierrez had to try different medications and doses before finding what worked for him.
Even when he made his comeback in 2015, Gutierrez had to make adjustments in his workouts and changes in his diet to address related gastro-intestinal issues. He had to give up center field for the less demanding corner outfield positions. And he had to learn to acknowledge that some days he would wake up and simply not be able to play that day.
“Obviously I’m not the same guy that I was when I was 20 that can run down every ball in the outfield,” Gutierrez said. “Now I still do my job but I have to be careful with my body, start doing a lot of preparation before I go out there, a lot of stretching. When you’re young, you eat whatever you want and you still feel good. It affects your body. Even going early to bed, getting your rest, that’s important.”
Gutierrez made his way back to the majors in June 2015 and played well. He hit .292 with 15 home runs and 35 RBI in 59 games. In 98 games last year that dropped to .246 with 14 home runs and 39 RBI.
He was no longer a center fielder and played mainly against left-handed pitching, a part-time role he had to learn to accept.
“It was difficult,” Gutierrez said. “It was difficult because you play every day and you play a position that demands a lot as a center fielder. And then it seems like everything is taken away from you like this.
“I had to be strong in my mind and say to myself, ‘OK, this is my new body right now. This is the way I’m going to fit. I’m going to have to feel comfortable with this even if I’m not.’ But that’s the way it is. Life doesn’t happen the way you want it.”
The Dodgers, however, see Gutierrez as the perfect fit on a team that struggled mightily against left-handed pitching last season. Manager Dave Roberts called Gutierrez “a lefty killer” who will platoon in the corner outfield positions and might be asked to play center field “in a pinch.”
“I’ve always liked Franklin and the way he plays the game,” Roberts said. “He’s here for a certain purpose — that is to play in the corners and hit lefties and when he’s not in the lineup be a veteran bat off the bench.”
For Gutierrez’s second time around with the Dodgers, that is enough.
“I’m just very excited to be here,” said Gutierrez who turned 34 on Tuesday as the Dodgers held their first full-squad workout. “This was the first team that gave me the opportunity to play professional baseball in 2000.
“It’s amazing. I started here, I’ve been traded twice and been around a long time. And now I’m back here.”
Notes
• Roberts said first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is “pretty adamant” about still wanting to play for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Gonzalez has been shut down for two weeks due to tendinitis in his right elbow that flared up during his winter workouts. He said he expects to be re-examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache at the start of March and that will determine his availability for the WBC.
• The Dodgers have 63 players in camp as full-squad workouts begin (including 23 non-roster invitees).
• Shortstop Corey Seager said he accepts the ‘World Series or bust’ expectations around the Dodgers. “That’s always going to be the mindset,” he said. “The goal at the beginning of the year is always to win a World Series and if you don’t, it’s a disappointment. Last year was a disappointment. It was a good year but still a disappointment to lose (in the NLCS to the Chicago Cubs).”
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