Seattle Extends Catcher Jenji Johjima. WHY? What About Jeff Clement?
Posted by Alan Hull on April 29th, 2008
The Seattle Mariners have announced their decision to give catcher Kenji Johjima a three-year $24 million contract extension. This news should come as some shock as the Mariners’ top prospect, Jeff Clement, is a catcher and at the moment, is hitting .397/.535/.692 with five home runs for AAA Tacoma.
Johjima, 32, has served as the Mariners catcher the past two seasons after ten seasons in Japan, and has done well, hitting .281/.322/.426 with 18 and 14 home runs, respectively. Johjima has also been very strong defensively, throwing out 39% of base stealers for the Mariners.
There are a few problems with this extension: with Clement, 24, clearly ready to go offensively and Johjima looking weak offensively so far this season, hitting a meager .184/.253/.224 with no home runs in his first 73 AB, I have to wonder why the Mariners made it such a priority to re-sign Johjima that they did it before the season was over. Johjima has decent power for a catcher, but with his lack of plate discipline and his age, he will probably decline quickly offensively. Why not wait to see how he does this season before negotiating an extension? If Johjima were to have a down-year this season, it would definitely be as a result of his age and all the years spent behind the plate and as it is, Japanese players are believed to wear down at an earlier age, so with Johjima as the first Japanese catcher, we are in unchartered, albeit worrisome territory.
Even if Clement is determined to be unfit to make it as a catcher long-term based on his defense, he’s young enough where his offense should make it worthwhile for the coming seasons. I have to think the Mariners plan to mix Clement in as a part-time catcher and designated hitter this season, replacing the very un-DH-like Jose Vidro. After this season, Clement would increasingly take on more time at catcher iwith Johjima serving as a useful back-up and second option, which works as long as Johjima remains as strong as he has defensively, but really don’t see why they felt the need to extend him in-season.
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