SEATTLE -- Is Ichiro Suzuki going to be a panacea for the Yankees?

Probably not if he’s batting eighth, which is the case Monday, his first game with New York after being traded from Seattle in exchange for pitchers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar.

Ichiro has only ever lived at the top of the lineup. The trouble is, in the last season and a half, he’s lost the magic touch that produced 10 consecutive 200-hit seasons.

The 10-time All-Star has made it a habit of getting jammed on pitches early in at-bats, then swinging at pitches down and away to end them.

But much of the problem has been that he’s been on a team going nowhere with players who are 10-15 years younger than he. And there hasn’t been a chance to win, which continued to grind at him day after day. The Mariners are rebuilding, they aren’t winning, and there is no immediate prospect that they would win.

Being in New York will be different, and not just because the Mariners are buried in the bottom of the AL West and the Yankees have the best record in the AL in addition to a six-game lead in the AL East.

For one thing, Ichiro will be surrounded by superior talent, no matter where in the lineup he hits. He’ll have more men on first base when he bats, which will open up the hole between first and second, an area where Ichiro wears out opponents when he’s on his game.

When he’s on base, he’s been a little too selective. He’s stolen 15 bases in 17 tries. What he could do while wearing pinstripes is to run more and generate the kind of electricity manager Joe Girardi admits the team has missed in the absence of outfielder Brett Gardner.

On defense, Ichiro is never going to be a player who dives headlong for balls, but he still covers acres in the outfield and still possesses one of the best throwing arms in the game. Yankee pitchers will be better for runners not being able to go from first to third on balls hit to Ichiro.

Mostly, Ichiro will be free to be just another guy, and not looked at as the guy who has to carry the franchise on his shoulders. That could produce an amazing upsurge in production.