No Prince joining the King just yet, but.....

Apparently, the M's have signed a bear for their rotation. as Geoff Baker reports....

The nickname of new Mariners pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma is "Kuma" which translates to "The Bear" in Japanese. Wherever he goes in Japan, a bear symbol usually follows, whether it's fans holding up placards or team billboards or on t-shirts.So, expect to see quite a bit of bear symbology taking place at Safeco Field this summer.On the Mariners front, they hope he's a horse as well. As in workhorse.In fact, the entire contract is structured around that being the case. If Iwakuma can pitch 200 innings and make 30 starts, he'll take home $4.9 million, which is more than other teams were offering him, some over multiple years.It's also quite a bit less than the Oakland A's were offering over multiple seasons a year ago, but a shoulder injury in the interim raised some concerns."I think that it serves both parties' best interests,'' Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik said of the contract on a conference call with reporters earlier tonight. "I know that he wants to pitch here in the United States. I know he's enjoyed his short time here in Seattle. He's very familiar with the organization. And I do think he would like to establish himself here in the States and see what happens.''

 Interesting (and cheap!) signing....