Mariners

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Mariners starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma warms up on bullpen mound in Peoria, Ariz. this morning ahead of physicals for pitchers and catchers.

Mariners catcher Jesus Montero met with the media for the first time today and was asked about last week’s story that reported his name was on documents belonging to the now-defunct Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables, Fla. The clinic has been linked to several big-name big leaguers, including Alex Rodriguez, and was said to be a supply depot for performance enhancing drugs.

Montero’s name was said to have appeared in clinic documents. But there was no direct link mentioned between Montero and PEDs.

You know that I was down here and asked Montero about this six days ago, but this was the first time for the rest of the Seattle media to ask Montero about it and he obliged.

He was asked what the past week has been like for him.

“It’s been fine for me,” he said. “I don’t really know what’s going on. I didn’t have anything to do with those people. I know my agent’s been handling everything. I don’t know anything about it. I just talked to my family, I told them ‘It’s nothing, don’t worry about.’

“We’re happy. I’m just doing my job over here trying to be ready for spring training and be ready for the season. What can I say? It surprised me too.”

I asked Montero about his brother, also named Jesus and a catcher in the Cardinals organization. Is it possible it was his brother’s name seen on documents and not his?

“No, we don’t have anything to do with that clinic,” he said.

Again, he added, his agents are going to be the point-men for him on the continuing investigation and let him know what comes of it.

“For me, I just want to focus on baseball,” Montero said. “I just want to be here, pay attention to my team, be ready. Like I told you already, that (stuff), they’re going to handle everything. I don’t have anything to do with that. I know I didn’t do anything wrong. They’re going to do everything for me. They’re going to clean all that up, I think. I don’t know what’s going to happen. They’re going to do everything for me.”

In that regard, Montero spent the winter working on improving his overall speed and agility. The past two months, he trained five days per week — for between an hour or two daily — with Venezuelan trainer Fernando Rodriguez.

They worked on form running and agility drills as well as Montero’s explosiveness. Montero said he actually put on a few pounds this winter but added that “it’s not a big deal” and will quickly come off. He’d done some running work a few years back, but discontinued it.

This year, both he and the Mariners realized he had to do more of it.

“I don’t run really well, I’m slow and I know that,” Montero said. “He taught me things that aren’t going to help me to be real fast, but a little bit better.”