Adam Moore News

The Hot Stove portion of the baseball season is in full swing and the Mariners have several holes to fill before the start of Spring Training.

The Hot Stove League has kicked off, and the Seattle Mariners have many things to do.

Right now, there are a lot of different theories out there, among fans, bloggers, beat writers, everyone, about how the Mariners should go about building this team for next season.

Since Kenji decided to head back to Japan, one of the things that Jack said to the media afterwards has gained a decent amount of attention, is that this creates a hole where they're probably going to have to bring in a veteran catcher this winter.

Kenji Johjima's return home didn't cost him too dearly as the former Seattle Mariners catcher agreed to a reported four-year, $21 million deal with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Central League on Tuesday.

The 2009 season is almost behind us and the Mariners have gone their separate ways for the winter after bringing winning back to the organization.

I put in a call to Rob Johnson on Monday to get his reaction on the Kenji Johjima news, seeing as how he's now the senior catcher in the organization with his one year and 57 days of service time.

Johnson is not AAA and has proven to be a bonafide MLB catcher as he has already shown lots of his promise.

After the initial shock of learning that catcher Kenji Johjima was leaving the Mariners with two years and $16 million left on his contract, the general feeling among some in the organization is that it comes as no tremendous surprise.

The Mariners' Kenji Johjima opted out of the final two years of his contract, allowing him to sign with a Japanese team.

Editor's note: Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik answered questions from readers Wednesday in an exclusive, hourlong online chat, the first of The Seattle Times' weekly series with local sports newsmakers.

2, 2009, at Safeco Field in Seattle. Browse more photos>> This is the 6th highest win total in Ranger history.

Ted S. Warren / Associated Press Seattle Mariners catcher Adam Moore can't get a tag on Texas' Taylor Teagarden as Teagarden scores in the second inning Friday.

Ichiro won't win the batting title this season or score 100 runs, but he's added another of those shake-your-head marks to his considerable resume.

Power pitching worked well for the Mariners in their first two victories against the Athletics.

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu had indicated earlier this month that outfielder Michael Saunders would play minimally as the team retools his swing, but he was in the lineup Wednesday night and might get another start before the season is finished.

Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a three-run homer and Brandon Morrow was stellar on the bump, as the Seattle Mariners made short work of the Oakland Athletics, 7-0, in the middle test of a three-game set.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The Seattle Mariners have 10 games remaining and three catchers Rob Johnson, Kenji Johjima and rookie Adam Moore who need playing time.

The Mariners begin the final week of the season with some unfinished business. While playing well into October for the first time since 2001 is not going to happen, the upcoming three-game series against the Athletics can assure the Mariners of a winning record, and if the six-game homestand goes really well, a second-place finish in the AL West ...

Toronto's Adam Lind, left, is mobbed by teammates after he hit his 32nd homer of the season to beat the Seattle Mariners Saturday.