Mariners Blog

Geoff Baker covers the Mariners for The Seattle Times. He provides daily coverage of the team throughout spring training, and during the season.

E-mail Geoff| Mariners Forum| Subscribe | Blog Home

April 25, 2008 1:04 PM

Johjima signs three-year, $24 million extension

Posted by Geoff Baker

The Mariners just inked Kenji Johjima to a three-year extension through the 2011 season, which the Associated Press reports is worth $24 million. Fresh off the presses. Here's a quote from GM Bill Bavasi.

"As an organization, we view quality Major League catching as a scarce commodity,'' Bavasi said. "This extension allows us to feel very comfortable with our catching depth for the foreseeable future."

Here's the take from manager John McLaren: "Joh is a durable, intelligent catcher," McLaren said, "and he's still improving his game. It is a very tough adjustment to switch leagues from Japan, and he has done an outstanding job adapting his game to the US."

Obviously, the timing of the announcement -- given Johjima's batting stats -- could not be worse. Say hello to Jeff Clement, first baseman of the future. Or is that DH? I don't know. Feel free to discuss. I'm sure there will be plenty for you all to say. Have at it.

Digg | Newsvine