Mariners

For 11 seasons in Seattle, Ichiro hitting out of the leadoff spot has been a Mariner fixture. That's where he's been for 1,722 of his 1,749 games. But that may be about to change.

Mariners manager Eric Wedge said Thursday at the club's annual pre-spring training luncheon that he is "leaning" toward hitting Ichiro in another position in the batting order.

Wedge cautioned that this potentially significant development is not final. But at the end of last year's disappointing season by Ichiro, in which he hit a career low .272 — his first time under .300 since 1993 — the manager had cautioned that it was no guarantee Ichiro would return to the leadoff spot.

Wedge has had more time to think about it since then, and here's where he stands:

"I haven't made any firm decisions. I've made it very clear over the course of the winter I'm thinking about it. I'm even further down the road to where I'm leaning in that direction to have Ichi hit somewhere else.

"I know it's a big deal to everybody. I can't get caught up in that. My job is to make sure I communicate that to Ichiro, make sure everyone understands what the options are, and what they're fighting for, and what I'm thinking about. That's what I'm going to continue to do.

"Right now, I'm going to be very open-minded to what I'm going to do, but I'm going to go into spring training leaning a certain direction."

Wedge said he hasn't decided yet who would hit first if Ichiro doesn't, nor where Ichiro would land in the batting order. But he has some ideas about both decisions. He said Dustin Ackley and Chone Figgins are "the first two that come to mind" when it comes to leadoff, with Franklin Gutierrez a possibility.

As for where Ichiro would hit, "We've talked about the three hole, I've contemplated hitting him second, and there's still a chance he might lead off. Ultimately, it's not just about Ichiro; it's about our club, and it's about his 24 other teammates. Ichiro understands that. I damn sure understand it.

"What we're going to do is make sure we put out the best possible lineup to score more runs. It's not acceptable the amount of runs we've scored the past couple of years. Last year, I sat back, and I bit my tongue off more than once, but it was the right thing to do. My wife was proud of me, let's put it that way. This year's going to be a little different, but you don't go from zero to 60."

Ichiro's contract

Ichiro is entering the final season of the five-year, $90 million contract he signed in July of 2007. General manager Jack Zduriencik said Thursday no negotiations on an extension are planned.

"Right now, at the end of the year, we mutually agreed we'd table any discussions, move forward and play the season and see what happens," he said. "Anything could happen at any point in time, but right now, our biggest concern is to go into spring training and watch all of our players and let the process work itself out."

Options with Figgins

One of Wedge's priorities is finding a way to revive the career of Figgins after two disappointing seasons. He still has two years remaining on his four-year, $36 million contract, and Wedge seems inclined to use him as a super-utility player.

"I've talked to him. He's going to play all over," Wedge said. "He's going to have reps everywhere in the outfield, as well as second, short and third. It's how he broke in in Anaheim. Maybe he's going to end up establishing himself in one spot and that's fine, but we're going to play him all over defensively initially."

Notes

• The Mariners are thrilled by Gutierrez's recovery from stomach issues. When the season ended, he weighed 183, but now he's up to 197, and "everything he put on is muscle," trainer Rick Griffin said. "He looks unbelievable, and basically he's gone 10 months without stomach issues."

• Justin Smoak has lost weight and has improved his agility and strength, Griffin said. Gutierrez, Smoak, Figgins, Kyle Seager, John Jaso, Miguel Olivo, Brendan Ryan, Casper Wells and Ackley were all in Seattle recently for a minicamp organized by Wedge. All are healthy and ready to go, according to the trainer.

• The Mariners will hold their 14th annual FanFest Saturday and Sunday at Safeco Field. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.

On Twitter @StoneLarry