Mariners notebook: How much of a platoon will it be at first base?

Who’s on first? Friday it is Dae-Ho Lee. Opening Day it should be Adam Lind. On other days, particularly those with tough left-handed starters, it is still very much TBD.

“Very deep,” said Scott Servais of the possibilities he has for the right-handed platoon partner for Lind at first base (more on that below). “All of the guys have shown things that will get you excited about. Some question marks are starting to get answered in how they handle things defensively. Looking at the quality of at-bat, we have tried to get these guys in there against left-handed pitching as much as we could. It’s hard, we don’t necessarily know who is going to pitch against you every day, but that’s their role on this club.”

Interestingly enough it was Lind who got the start at first – and hit a double – with Cubs lefty Jon Lester on the hill Thursday. While his struggles against lefties have prompted the Mariners to invest in a roster spot for a right-handed first baseman, don’t expect it to be a strict platoon.

“He’ll play some against lefties, there is no doubt,” Servais said Thursday. “I don’t know but I have a good idea who we will face Opening Day, but Adam Lind might be in there. It’s good to see him swing the bat and get some timing.”

Cole Hamels will most likely be the Opening Day starter for the Rangers, and there is a possibility Texas could run lefties at the Mariners for each of the three games of that series. For all of the troubles Lind has had against lefties, he has actually hit Texas lefties well, going 9 for 23 with two home runs and seven RBIs against Hamels and Derek Holland – small sample of course. He has not faced Martin Perez.

Lineup!

Ketel Marte, SS

Leonys Martin, CF

Kyle Seager, 3B

Franklin Gutierrez, DH

Stefen Romero, RF

Dae-Ho Lee, 1B

Chris Iannetta, C

Efren Navarro, LF

Shawn O’Malley, 2B

Hisashi Iwakuma, P

Iwakuma is scheduled to get three innings or 50 pitches, whichever comes first. Following him will be Tony Zych, David Rollins, Joel Peralta and Donn Roach.

Notes

• Servais said we could see Guillermo Heredia in a game Friday or Saturday as his sprained ankle has healed. He is not on the travel roster so I would assume we will see him in one of the split-squad games Saturday.

• Charlie Furbush played catch Friday, will throw a flat-ground session Saturday and then should throw a simulated game against minor leaguers shortly after that.

• On that note, the first minor league full-squad workouts will take place Saturday. There have been minor leaguers here in mini camp, but the entire camp should be in full swing Saturday.

• Luis Sardinas is getting a day off after feeling calf tightness during the game against the Cubs.