Just a few days after announcing that he won't return to the Seattle Mariners in 2010, Kenji Johjima has signed a four-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League. NPB Tracker says the deal is a four-year deal worth the equivalent of $27.25 million, which is a pretty nice deal for him after opting out of the $16 million owed to him by the Mariners. Johjima spent the first nine seasons of his career with the team currently known as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in NPB's Pacific League, and there he was a 30-homer player between 2001 and 2004 before hopping across the Pacific to the Mariners. After struggling with the Mariners the past two years, the decision to move back to NPB clearly makes a ton of sense; he'll make more money, he'll be back home, and the smaller parks may give him a chance to regain his power stroke.
Given the money owed Johjima and his declining bat in America, it's hard to think Seattle is upset to see him go. Still, the flow of talent between the two countries isn't a static thing and it's fascinating to watch players move back and forth. Just a month or so ago, we were talking about Yusei Kikuchi becoming the second top Japanese prospect to skip the draft in favor of America and what that meant for the future of keeping top talent in Japan. Now, Kikuchi has elected to stay with NBP and one of the higher profile talents to leave Japan is going back.
