Moving Ichiro in the lineup and other Mariners notes

The man who has been at the top of the Mariners lineup for a decade may be hitting somewhere else in the upcoming season.

The Mariners held their annual pre-spring training luncheon Thursday, and one of the more interesting things that came up was manager Eric Wedge saying he was "Leaning in that direction to have Ichi hitting somewhere else."

Wedge mentioned the possibility of Suzuki hitting second or third in the lineup, but said he could also stay in the leadoff spot. So who would be leading off if not Suzuki? Wedge mentioned the possibility of Dustin Ackley, Chone Figgins (no, seriously, he said that. Stop laughing) or even Franklin Gutierrez.

Whatever the lineup ends up looking like, Wedge is expecting more out of his team's offense in 2012. A lot more.

"I feel like this year is going to be the year we take a big leap forward," he said.

General Manager Jack Zduriencik was a bit more blunt with his assessment of the team. It is clear Zduriencik likes the direction the team is headed in the long-term but he admitted that this year could be a struggle.

"This is going to be a challenging year at the big-league level for us," he said. "Let's not kid ourselves."

In fact, Zduriencik used thee different metaphors during his press conference to illustrate the long journey his team has ahead of it, though he did acknowledge "Patience is a tough thing."

As for the team's health, the Mariners have very few injury concerns coming into spring training. Trainer Rick Griffin listed off a number of players who had injuries last season, including shortstop Brendan Ryan (neck), outfielder Casper Wells (balance disorder), catcher Adam Moore (knee) and third baseman Chone Figgins (hip flexor), and said all are doing well and will be ready to go for spring training.

In addition, Franklin Gutierrez, who battled irritable bowel syndrome the past two seasons and ended last year weighing just 183 pounds, is up to 197 pounds according to Griffin, having put on 14 pounds of muscle. Griffin said Gutierrez has gone 10 months without any stomach problems. Also, Justin Smoak is checking in in better shape, having lowered his body-fat percentage by four percent.

New catcher Jesus Montero was on hand as well, and again the topic came up of where he will play. Montero said he wants to be a catcher, and Wedge said he will get that chance, but also noted that the priority will be to get Montero at bats this season and worry about his long-term future at catcher later. It sounds like, early on anyway, Miguel Olivo will get the majority of the work behind the plate, but that Montero will see some time back there, and that no decision on his long-term position has been made.