Johnson Tires Of Talk, Wants To Move On M’S Ace Says It’ll Be Uneasy 1998 If He’s Not Traded Away By Seattle

Seattle Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson has grown weary of the trade rumors and is ready to move on.

“If I had my wish, I would have been traded by now,” Johnson told The News Tribune of Tacoma. “It is an uncomfortable situation knowing I am not going to be there beyond next year.

“Why not just trade me now … so I can move on … and get situated?”

Johnson, a left-hander, is 75-20 since 1993, going 20-4 last season with a 2.28 ERA and 291 strikeouts. He won the A.L. Cy Young Award in 1995.

Johnson, 34, who has been with the Mariners for nine years, said he does not expect to be traded anytime soon unless Seattle lowers its asking price.

“They are asking for a lot,” Johnson said. “With New York (the Yankees), they are asking for a couple of players and the Statue of Liberty. And Cleveland, they are asking for a couple of players and Jacobs Field.

“That’s not going to happen. Teams know that I am not going to be there after next year. Why not wait a year, and they know they can get me? I mean, they are trying to get (Yankees starter) Andy Pettitte. Well, keep Andy Pettitte because I will be there a year from now in a possible scenario.”

Johnson is under contract with Seattle for $6 million for 1998. Team executives worry about his age and his back - a bulging disc that required surgery kept him out of most of the 1996 season.

Johnson is eligible for free agency after the 1998 season, and his next contract probably will approach Greg Maddux’s $57.5 million, 5-year deal with Atlanta, the largest package and highest average salary among pitchers.

Johnson, who lives in suburban Glendale, Ariz., in the off-season, said if the Mariners do not trade him before spring training begins in February, he does not see himself doing the team any favors.

“I don’t think I’ll find myself saying, ‘OK, I’ll pitch out of the bullpen …,’ when I know I have one more year under contract for the Mariners. I’ll honor it, but it will be an uncomfortable situation.

“The funny thing is, the Mariners know how important I am to that team, and they can afford me if they want to.”