What to do with Kenji Johjima?

He’s not the starting catcher anymore.  Rob Johnson has won over the pitching staff and more importantly manager Don Wakamatsu, catching whenever Felix Hernandez, Jarrod Washburn or Erik Bedard take the hill.  He’s even been hitting since the calendar turned to July, batting .300 with a .900+ OPS.

Johjima is under contract through 2011 and set to be one of the highest paid catchers in baseball over the next two seasons, but getting playing time is only going to get harder for him.  Adam Moore, the organization’s top catching prospect, has continued hitting since landing in AAA and is just a few months of defensive work away from being MLB ready.

Will Johjima give up and go back to Japan?  He has an opt-out clause in his contract that can be exercised after the 2009 season.  It’s supposed to be reserved for family emergencies or other similar developments, but if he goes into 2010 Spring Training as the third string catcher behind Johnson and Moore (and not to mention Jeff Clement), might he find a way to exercise that clause and head back to Japan where he can find a starting job and play closer to his family?

Or maybe he simply approaches the team asking to work out some kind of buyout?  The Mariners could pay him something like $10M in exchange for his retirement.  Just a thought.

I mention those options first because I’m having a hard time thinking of a team that would want him in trade.  The offense has slipped and there are surely rumors around the league about his inability to work effectively with a pitching staff.  The Red Sox have been a popular target of speculation, but with Theo Epstein leading one of the most intelligent front offices in baseball and the Julio Lugo bad contract swap possibility a few days from going out the window, they don’t seem like much of a destination for Johjima.

The Yankees could use a catcher, have money to burn and could market Joh alongside Hideki Matsui to their large Japanese demographic, but would they want Johjima?  Not likely, but they’re the first real possibility that springs to mind.

As funny as it is, the Royals match up on a couple of levels.  They love hackers like Johjima and have Trey Hillman managing, but money would be an issue and Miguel Olivo is outperforming Joh at the plate this year.

The Giants seem like a possibility, but Buster Posey isn’t long for the minor leagues so I don’t think they’d be eager to add an expensive catcher for the next two seasons.  Who else could be a possibility?  The Phillies?

The last options would be to either release Johjima outright and eat the $16M owed to him after this season, or allow him to stick around as the league’s most expensive backup for the next couple of seasons.

I’m getting of tired of rehashing these ideas every few months.  I really hope the situation is resolved this offseason.  What would you like to happen with Johjima?  What do you think will actually happen?