Larry Stone's update on the best news for the Mariners all year:
I certainly won't question the word of an agent, but ... Wait a minute. Of course I will. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that Johjima's being taken care of, somehow. I do believe that the Mariners are free of that ridiculous $16 million, but that doesn't necessarily mean that someone isn't throwing $16 million -- or some subset of $16 million -- Johjima's way.
When Johjima got his three-year, $24 million contract extension shortly into the 2008 season, he was coming off a pretty solid season, but the move was seen quizzically. It just seemed like a lot of money for a catcher in his 30s who wouldn't even become a free agent until after the 2008 season. It really seemed like a lot of money after Johjima's stats fell off a cliff during the 2008 season. The scuttlebutt in Seattle, essentially, was that the Mariners came up with an extension offer, sent it across the Pacific to ownership, where a few zeroes were tacked on. Which is how you wind up spending $24 million on a part-time catcher.
Except now apparently the Mariners won't. Johjima actually enjoyed a bit of a bounce-back in 2009, but played only 71 games so wasn't worth the $8 million he earned. Might he have been worth $8 million in 2010 if he'd stayed in Seattle? Sure. A catcher doesn't have to do a great deal to be worth $8 million, except play four or five games every week.
But even if Johjima wanted to play, the Mariners couldn't justify paying him $8 million. Between Rob Johnson and rookie Adam Moore, the Mariners have two other right-handed-hitting catchers who can do everything that Johjima can do, at roughly one-tenth the cost for the both of them.
However it happened, the front office has just been handed a huge, $16 million gift.
- I just got off the phone with Alan Nero, agent for Kenji Johjima, and he said some interesting things. For one, he confirmed that the Mariners are free and clear from the remaining $16 million on Johjima's contract."He walks completely on his contract here, and we start fresh," Nero said. "He's made this decision without regard to financial consequence. He's a free agent in Japan, and I'll negotiate the best offer I can."
--snip--
Nero added that Johjima made the decision after returning home to Japan at the end of the season.
"He agonized over the decision, and made the decision on his own," Nero said. "We let him do this on his own. He basically notified the club. It wasn't like we all participated. It all came from Kenji and his heart."
I certainly won't question the word of an agent, but ... Wait a minute. Of course I will. It wouldn't surprise me at all to learn that Johjima's being taken care of, somehow. I do believe that the Mariners are free of that ridiculous $16 million, but that doesn't necessarily mean that someone isn't throwing $16 million -- or some subset of $16 million -- Johjima's way.
When Johjima got his three-year, $24 million contract extension shortly into the 2008 season, he was coming off a pretty solid season, but the move was seen quizzically. It just seemed like a lot of money for a catcher in his 30s who wouldn't even become a free agent until after the 2008 season. It really seemed like a lot of money after Johjima's stats fell off a cliff during the 2008 season. The scuttlebutt in Seattle, essentially, was that the Mariners came up with an extension offer, sent it across the Pacific to ownership, where a few zeroes were tacked on. Which is how you wind up spending $24 million on a part-time catcher.
Except now apparently the Mariners won't. Johjima actually enjoyed a bit of a bounce-back in 2009, but played only 71 games so wasn't worth the $8 million he earned. Might he have been worth $8 million in 2010 if he'd stayed in Seattle? Sure. A catcher doesn't have to do a great deal to be worth $8 million, except play four or five games every week.
But even if Johjima wanted to play, the Mariners couldn't justify paying him $8 million. Between Rob Johnson and rookie Adam Moore, the Mariners have two other right-handed-hitting catchers who can do everything that Johjima can do, at roughly one-tenth the cost for the both of them.
However it happened, the front office has just been handed a huge, $16 million gift.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Rob Neyer
Neyer is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He began his career with legendary baseball author (and now Red Sox executive) Bill James, then joined Stats Inc. and wrote about MLB, the NFL and the NBA. Neyer joined ESPN.com in 1996, and it's believed that he's written more words for the site than anybody.
Neyer moved to Kansas City in 1976, just in time for the Royals' first division title, and fell in love almost immediately. He attended the University of Kansas the same four years as Danny Manning, and is now happy to wait another 20 years for the Jayhawks' next championship.