With Rob Johnson facing multiple surgeries this offseason, Kenji Johjima appeared to have an opportunity to regain his place as the Seattle Mariners’ No. 1 catcher in 2010.
Instead, the 33-year-old Johjima has chosen to leave it, along with $16 million he could have made the next two seasons with the Mariners, in order to play closer to family and friends in Japan. He has invoked a clause that allows him to opt out of the final two years of a three-year, $24 million contract extension he signed last year.
The Mariners, saying they didn’t expect Johjima to leave, announced his decision Monday morning.
“After lots of very deep thought and deliberation, I have decided to return home to resume my career in Japan,” Johjima said in a statement released by the Mariners. “This was a very difficult decision, both professionally and personally. I feel now is the time to go home while I still can perform at a very high level.”
There was speculation during this season that Johjima may choose to leave after he lost his first-string job to Johnson, but the Mariners said they were surprised at his decision. General manager Jack Zduriencik said he learned of Johjima’s intentions Friday when he spoke with agent Alan Nero.
“Kenji was going to be part of this organization for the next several years,” Zduriencik said. “Having the opportunity to play close to home sometimes is a very motivating factor for players.”
Johjima would have given the Mariners a sense of stability going into spring training because of injuries that will force Johnson to undergo three, and possibly four, offseason operations.
Johnson had surgery Friday to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and will undergo a similar procedure next month on his right hip. He also will have ligament damage repaired in his left wrist and may need surgery to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. The Mariners are hopeful but aren’t certain he will be at full strength when spring training begins.
Adam Moore is a promising prospect but he lacks the major league experience the Mariners need.
Without Johjima, the Mariners will look at increasing their catching depth with their offseason moves, Zduriencik said.
“The fact we lost a veteran could create an area that you’re going to have to look at,” he said. “We’ll do that sooner rather than later.”
Johjima is the second Japanese player to leave the Mariners before the end of his contract. Before the 2004 season, All-Star closer Kazuhiro Sasaki returned to Japan with one year and $8.5 million remaining on his contract. Sasaki also said he wanted to be closer to his family, although subsequent reports cited off-field issues that prompted Mariners ownership to push for him to leave.
Zduriencik said Johjima’s desire to play in his home country was the sole reason he is leaving. Zduriencik also said there was no buyout involved, and the Mariners will save the $8 million they would have paid him each of the next two seasons. Johjima now will negotiate with Japanese teams.
Johjima, an 11-year veteran with Fukuoka of Japan’s Pacific League, signed with the Mariners as a free agent before the 2006 season in a deal influenced greatly by the team’s Japanese ownership. It was a curious signing from a baseball operations perspective because, even though the Mariners had lost veteran Dan Wilson to retirement, they had drafted Jeff Clement with their first-round pick the previous June and had Johnson climbing through their system.
Johjima came to the Mariners with major concerns over his ability to communicate with pitchers because he didn’t speak English. The bigger problem, however, was that he struggled to connect with the pitchers from a baseball sense when he called games. In Japan, pitchers primarily establish the breaking ball instead of the fastball, opposite of the common approach in the major leagues.
Despite the issues, Johjima gave the Mariners much-needed offense his first season, batting .291 with 18 home runs, 76 RBI and an American League record for hits by a rookie catcher with 147.
He batted .287 in 2007 but his average plummeted to .227 and his playing time diminished in 2008. The Mariners called up Clement — who also struggled before the Mariners traded him midway through this season — and Johnson was called up late last season and given a strong look. Johjima suffered a broken toe midway through the past season and Johnson not only got much of the playing time at catcher, he won the faith of the pitching staff.
Still, the Mariners were surprised Monday when Johjima decided to leave.
“It’s hard when you see a guy walk away from the team,” closer David Aardsma said. “You never want to see a part of your team leave. When a guy is a free agent, you understand, but right in the middle of their contract, it hurts. But when your heart is telling you to do something else, you’ve got to listen to it.”
Read Kirby Arnold’s blog on the Mariners at www.heraldnet.com\marinersblog
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