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Welcome home Marlins sign Johnson to 5-year, $35 million deal
Updated: Monday December 18, 2000 9:53 PM
MIAMI (AP) -- A day after signing a deal that could bring the Florida Marlins a new name and a new ballpark, the team added a new catcher -- agreeing Monday to a $35 million, five-year contract with free agent Charles Johnson. Johnson, 29, broke into the major leagues with the Marlins in 1994 and was a starter on their 1997 World Series championship team. "My heart has always been in Florida," he said Monday. "In my heart I really wanted to come home." Johnson gets $5 million in each of the first two seasons, $7 million in 2003 and $9 million in each of the final two years. Johnson, from nearby Fort Pierce, Fla., was traded by the Marlins to the Los Angeles Dodgers in May 1998 in a deal involving Gary Sheffield and Mike Piazza. A career .249 hitter, Johnson hit .304 with 31 home runs and 91 RBIs this year with the Baltimore Orioles and the Chicago White Sox. The signing came a day after the Marlins announced an agreement with Miami-Dade County and city officials on a $385 million, retractable roof stadium in downtown Miami. Johnson and his agent, Scott Boras, said that the stadium deal was the deciding factor in his decision to rejoin the club. "A month and a half ago, I would have said, 'I don't think so,'" Johnson said. "But the stadium made a big difference -- it really sold me. "I could have gotten more elsewhere, but sometimes a couple of dollars doesn't replace having your family here with their grandparents." Boras noted that Johnson took a 25 percent pay cut to sign with the Marlins, saying that he had been negotiating with two other teams when Florida general manager Dave Dombrowski approached him during the winter meetings last week to inquire about the Gold Glove catcher. Dombrowski said he hopes Johnson's experience will rub off on Florida's young pitching staff, which ranked ninth in the National League last season with a 4.59 ERA. Still, the Marlins went 79-83 and were in the thick of the wild card race in August. "This team will come back a better team," Johnson said. "The foundation is here. I will do my part to help the pitching staff get better and in the lineup."
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