SEATTLE -- Dan Wilson was beginning to wonder if he'd have to file for free agency.

	Wilson

On Friday, Seattle's No. 1 catcher averted doing that when he re-signed with the Mariners for two more seasons for $7 million.

Wilson gets $3.5 million in each of the next two seasons and the chance to earn more in performance bonuses.

"We were hoping to get it done and we were hoping to give them every opportunity to do it and not have to file,'' Wilson told a news conference. "But as the filing date approaches, you begin to think, 'What if we go somewhere else?' You begin to think, 'Where you would want to go?'''

Wilson, 33, hit a career-best .295 (106-for-359) with six home runs and 44 RBI in 115 games last season, when the Mariners posted their second-best victory total with 93 wins but missed the playoffs.

The Mariners tied the major league record with 116 victories in 2001 and, made it to the AL Championship Series in 2001 and 2000.

Wilson's main strengths are his defense and ability to call a game from behind the plate.

"I know that Bryan Price and the pitching staff all breathed a big sigh of relief today because Bryan and the pitching staff think so much of Dan,'' general manager Pat Gillick said. "I think Danny has turned into one of the best signal callers in the American League.''

Wilson's .295 batting average was the highest ever by a Mariners catcher.

He was eligible to become a free agent after the World Series and had until Monday to file.

Wilson was an All-Star in 1996 and has a .266 career batting average in 1,089 games with the Mariners and Cincinnati (1992-93). He has caught 1,027 games with the Mariners, more than any other catcher in team history.

But Wilson wasn't sure the Mariners wanted him back. Ben Davis, 24, Seattle's backup catcher, hit .259 with seven homers and 43 RBI in 80 games last season.

Wilson, 33, said he'd play the next two seasons and then decide if he wants to retire.

The Mariners acquired Wilson in a trade with the Reds after the 1993 season. They also got Bobby Ayala in the deal and sent Bret Boone and Erik Hanson to Cincinnati.

Wilson said he, his wife and his four children all wanted to stay in Seattle.

"It's a good ballclub,'' Wilson said. "We all know what kind of an atmosphere it is to play here and be around it. There's no place like it.''

Wilson's signing was the Mariners' third in two days. Designated hitter Edgar Martinez and reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa signed one-year contracts on Thursday.