Kenji Johjima Rumors

Looking Beyond Varitek

According to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald, a slew of catchers are being shopped to the Red Sox. Among them: Jeff Mathis, Mike Napoli, Brian Schneider, Miguel Montero, John Buck, Ramon Hernandez, Bengie Molina, Carlos Santana, Kelly Shoppach, Victor Martinez, Jesus Flores, Kenji Johjima, Jeff Clement, Yorvit Torrealba, and the Rangers' guys. Silverman says the Braves, Cardinals, and Rays also have catchers available. It seems that teams are asking for players like Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, or Lars Anderson in some cases. On the Jason Varitek front, Scott Boras told the AP yesterday that he's had no financial discussions...   Continue Reading

---

Mariners Rumors: Johjima, Washburn, Ibanez

Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times has all sorts of good Mariners info today. Kenji Johjima's three-year, $24MM extension was mandated by Japanese ownership. Johjima has an opt-out clause after the '09 season, but only in the event of a serious family issue. The extension looks like a sunk cost for Seattle before it even begins. Backup catcher Jamie Burke is a free agent after the season. He would like to return but needs to discuss playing time with the Ms. The Mariners' direction remains unclear - is 2009 a rebuilding year? If so, why didn't they swap Jarrod Washburn...   Continue Reading

---

Rosenthal's Latest: Teixeira, Liriano, Garcia, Willingham

Ken Rosenthal has a new hot stove article up. Rosenthal leads with some Mark Teixeira-Angels speculation, but admits the Braves aren't considering trading him and the Angels are content with their team. The Halos' .706 team OPS ranks 12th in the AL; something should be done. All kinds of Mariners turmoil. They could look to acquire a center fielder given the move back to right for Ichiro. Releases of Richie Sexson and Jose Vidro could be on the agenda. And chemistry problems abound, with Ichiro and Kenji Johjima at the center. The Ms might consider Chris Antonetti and David Forst...   Continue Reading

---

Kenji Johjima Signs Extension

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Mariners will give catcher Kenji Johjima a three-year extension. That'd keep him with the team through 2011, his age 35 season. It's worth three years and $24MM - no kind of discount. I didn't see this coming; I thought the Ms would hand catching duties over to Jeff Clement in '09 despite questionable defense. Instead, they'll apparently use him as a DH/1B or trade him. He's hitting .375/.500/.688 in 19 Triple A games. Here's a look at the remaining free agent catchers after this season. Ivan Rodriguez and Jason Varitek head the class.   Continue Reading

---

Mariners May Lock Up Several Players

I noticed a John Hickey article from three days ago that hasn't been mentioned here at MLBTR. Hickey notes that the Mariners like to sign players to extensions during spring if possible. He assesses the chances of extensions for Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard, Kenji Johjima, Raul Ibanez, and Richie Sexson in the article. Johjima, Ibanez, and Sexson are all set to reach free agency after the '08 season. Johjima seems the most likely to stay, though prospect Jeff Clement may be close to big league ready. Sexson is as good as gone, while the decision on Ibanez will likely hinge...   Continue Reading

---

Johjima In, Hargrove Out?

At this point, it's a widely held belief that Kenji Johjima will be the starting catcher for the Mariners in 2006. Recently, I had an informative email exchange with a master of Japanese baseball and its players, Gary Garland. Gary runs JapanBaseballDaily.com and has a much deeper knowledge of cultural factors that might come into play with Johjima and Ichiro than any American sportswriter. Among other things, Garland implies that Mike Hargrove could be fired after the 2006 season or earlier if he continues to offend his Japanese stars. Here are some excerpts of the email. On the clash with..   Continue Reading

---

Search MLBTR

MLBTR Mailing List

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

MLBTR Features

Recent Posts

Rumors By Team

Monthly Archives

Live Chats

Tuesdays at 2 p.m. CST