Mayo Clinic confirms original diagnosis on Gutierrez: irritable bowel syndrome

Ailing center fielder Franklin Gutierrez is back with the Mariners after his round of tests this week at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. The diagnosis is – as it was after tests last month in Seattle – irritable bowel syndrome.

“It’s basically a confirmation of what our guys here thought he had,” manager Eric Wedge said. “But that confirmation is key for peace of mind, and now it’s about treatment. They’ve got an initial treatment that they hope will work.”

Wedge said Gutierrez would accompany the team on its upcoming six-game trip to Detroit and Boston and try to keep him involved in the regular pregame routine.

“There’s no timetable,” Wedge said. “We’ll work off how he feels and go from there. Let’s hope that this treatment does work. I think we’ll have a better idea in about a week or so. There’s not just a clear-cut treatment. Everybody’s chemical balance is different, so it’s dependent on that.

“If this first round of treatment works for him, then it’s about his energy level and his baseball activity. We’ve got to get him to the point with his work where he’s far enough along so we can send him out and play. Then when he starts to play, we’ve got to get him far enough along where we’re comfortable we’re OK.”