SEATTLE -- One of the many duties for new Mariners manager Scott Servais this spring will be determining a starting lineup for his club, along with his five-man rotation and bullpen roles. A lot of that will be experimented with during Cactus League play, but the new skipper says he'd like to maintain a pretty consistent lineup once the regular season begins in April.
In Part V of our Spring Training preview series, we take a look at what the lineup and rotation will likely look like if things go according to plan at camp, which opens this Friday when pitchers and catchers are due to report to Peoria, Ariz.
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Servais likely will use platoon situations in right field, with Seth Smith and Franklin Gutierrez splitting time, as well as first base, with left-handed-hitting Adam Lind partnering with whomever wins the backup battle between Jesus Montero, Gaby Sanchez, Ed Lucas and Dae-Ho Lee.
The fifth starter also will need to sort itself out in what appears to be a battle between Nathan Karns and James Paxton, assuming the rest of the rotation stays healthy through camp. But once the pieces are in place, Servais -- a former big league catcher -- said his preference would be to find a lineup that works and stick with it.
"I think the more set and consistent you can be, the players appreciate it," Servais said. "They know what to expect. I don't think it necessarily changes their mindset [to be moved around]. I would hope it doesn't change their mindset. If Kyle Seager's hitting second vs. hitting fifth or sixth, I still want a good at-bat out of Kyle Seager, and I know he does, as well. You really can't change who you are, but I do think it takes a little bit of a load off the more consistent the manager can be."
2015 record
76-86, fourth in the American League West
Projected batting order (with 2015 statistics)

1. LF Nori Aoki:
   .287 BA, .353 OBP, .380 SLG, 5 HR, 14 SB
   
2. SS Ketel Marte:
   .283 BA, .351 OBP, .402 SLG, 2 HR, 8 SB
   
3. 2B Robinson Cano:
   .287 BA, .334 OBP, .446 SLG, 21 HR, 79 RBIs
   
4. DH Nelson Cruz:
   .302 BA, .369 OBP, .566 SLG, 44 HR, 93 RBIs
   
5. 3B Seager:
   .266 BA, .328 OBP, .451 SLG, 26 HR, 74 RBIs
   
6. 1B Lind:
   .277 BA, .360 OBP, .460 SLG, 20 HR, 87 RBIs
   
7. RF Smith:
   .248 BA, .330 OBP, .443 SLG, 12 HR, 42 RBIs
   
8. C Chris Iannetta:
   .188 BA, .293 OBP, .335 SLG, 10 HR, 34 RBIs
   
9. CF Leonys Martin:
   .219 BA, .264 OBP, .313 SLG, 5 HR, 14 SB
   Projected rotation (with 2015 statistics)
   
10. Felix Hernandez:
    18-9, 3.53 ERA
    
11. Hisashi Iwakuma:
    9-5, 3.54 ERA
    
12. Wade Miley:
    11-11, 4.46 ERA
    
13. Taijuan Walker:
    11-8, 4.56 ERA
    
14. Karns:
    7-5, 3.67 ERA

Projected bullpen (with 2015 statistics)
Closer: Steve Cishek:
4/9 saves, 3.58 ERA
RH setup man: Joaquin Benoit:
2.34 ERA
LH setup man: Charlie Furbush:
2.08 ERA