PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) - Kenji Johjima likens Seattle in many ways to his hometown of Sasebo, Japan. But that doesn't mean the Mariners' catcher is sold on staying in the Pacific Northwest.

Entering the final year of a three-year, $16.5 million deal he signed with Seattle in 2006, Johjima isn't certain what his future holds or where he'll be playing a year from now.

"That's a tough question," Johjima said through an interpreter Thursday following Seattle's first workout with pitchers and catchers. "I leave all of that up to my agent. But I like Seattle, I like my teammates, I like my team, I like my coaches, and of course, the manager. But that's different from contracts so we'll see what happens.

Johjima can hardly be faulted for not wanting to commit beyond this season. The 31-year-old, who signed with Seattle after 11 seasons in Japan, figures to be one of the top free agents next year if he doesn't sign an extension with the Mariners.

"All I can say right now is that I'll play hard this year," Johjima said.

While he hasn't ruled out a return to Seattle, it's clear that the prospects of being a free agent in the major leagues for the first time has the veteran catcher intrigued.

In the meantime, Johjima is content trying to get the Mariners back into the postseason after a six-year drought. He spent his offseason in Japan but stayed away from baseball and instead used the down time to hit the weight room.

"I did a lot of weight training in the gym and I didn't throw and hit as much as I would," Johjima said. "When you're back in Japan the weather is not as good as it is over here. It's pretty similar to Seattle but it doesn't rain as much, so it's kind of hard to throw and hit during the winter season, especially where I'm from."

Johjima will get plenty of work in the coming weeks. Seattle brought in two new starting pitchers, Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva, and have a new pitching coach in Mel Stottlemyre, along with a new bullpen coach.

Getting the newcomers on the same page with the holdover catcher is a prime concern of Seattle manager John McLaren.

"He gets frustrated when pitchers go against the game plan so we need to do a better job preparing everybody as far as our game plan is concerned," McLaren said. "To his credit, he's so conscientious that he's not afraid to say that he called a wrong pitch or something. I just want us all to be on the same page and I think sometimes we got off the same page last year as a staff and as a catching unit. We need to get everybody thinking together."

Part of the problem, Johjima acknowledges, was the language barrier that existed between himself and American pitchers. There's also a different style of pitching in the United States as opposed to Japan, something that has taken some time for both Johjima and his teammates to adjust to.

"Last year he definitely learned the American game," Mariners closer J.J. Putz said. "In Japan I think everything is backward the way they pitch. Not the game but the way they pitch. Here everybody pitches off their fastball. Over there they use their breaking ball to set up the fastball.

"For some guys it helped them a lot, like me, but I know there were some guys that didn't necessarily like him calling the games that way," Putz continued. "But all it took was a sitdown to talk it over."

Johjima hit .287 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs last year, numbers that were slightly lower than in his first season with Seattle. Part of that might have been due to the heavy workload he's carried since coming to Seattle. Over the last two seasons, Johjima caught 2,279 1-3 innings, second in the majors to Jason Kendall's 2,400.

The Mariners aren't planning any drastic changes in Johjima's schedule this year. Jamie Burke, who played in 50 games in 2007, will again be Johjima's main backup while Jeff Clement, the third overall pick in the 2005 draft, is likely to start at Triple-A Tacoma.

Seattle is high on Clement, which could affect the team's decision whether to re-sign Johjima. But McLaren doesn't want the 24-year-old prospect sitting on the bench this season.

"We're not going to carry Jeff Clement as an extra catcher, as a pinch-hitter," McLaren said. "He's going to have to be an every day player at a position. I'm not saying he can't make this ballclub but I'm not going to have him as a third catcher or a backup catcher. He's got too high a ceiling and he needs to play."

McLaren believes Johjima is on the cusp of being an All-Star and is pushing for his catcher to be more patient at the plate, saying the free-swinging slugger needs to be more selective with the pitches he attacks.

Johjima says that might be easier said than done considering his aggressive batting style.

"Because I am very aggressive, it's just a natural thing that makes me swing," Johjima said. "I don't know if you can control that. I know in my mind but when that ball comes I have a tendency to swing."