While the baseball world waits anxiously to see where superstar pitcher Yu Darvish lands, the Mariners are on the verge of acquiring a different Japanese player.

Shortstop Munenori Kawasaki doesn't have the high profile of Darvish, a potential ace pitcher who could fetch close to (or more than) $100 million between posting fee and salary.

But Kawasaki could be a useful player for the Mariners, most likely in a utility role. He and his wife are in Seattle this week, and sources say he will sign a minor-league contract with a spring-training invitation. The signing might not be announced until after the holidays.

Kawasaki's impending union with the Mariners is hardly a surprise, considering he said a at a news conference in Fukuoka two weeks ago that the only MLB team he would play for is the Mariners.

The lure for him is a chance to play with his idol and mentor, Ichiro. They were twice teammates in the World Baseball Classic, and share the same agent, Tony Attanasio.

Kawasaki, 30, hits left-handed, like Ichiro, and is said to have a similar "slap and run" batting style. He hit .267 in 2011 for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks, who won the Japan Series championship.

Kawasaki has hit better than .300 five times, most recently in 2010 (.316). He has also stolen as many as 44 bases in a season and had 31 steals last year. But he doesn't offer any power (just 27 homers in 10 years) or walk much. He had a .647 on-base plus slugging percentage in 603 at-bats last year. Ichiro's OPS in 2011 was .645, by far the lowest of his career.

Most important for the Mariners' needs, however, Kawasaki is regarded as a strong defensive player with good range. General manager Jack Zduriencik has said that one of his winter goals is to find a shortstop to back up Brendan Ryan, and Kawasaki will be a candidate. He can also play third base (he did so in the WBC) and second base, increasing his utility value.

Unlike Darvish, who went through the posting system, Kawasaki is a complete free agent because of his service time in Japan.

In Darvish's case, teams had until Wednesday to submit a blind bid, and his Japanese team, the Nippon Ham Fighters, have until Tuesday to accept or decline the top bid. At that point, the winning team will be revealed, and if the posting bid is accepted, as expected, that team will have 30 days to negotiate a contract with Darvish. If no agreement is reached, the posting fee is returned and Darvish would play next season with the Fighters.

When the Mariners signed Ichiro through the posting system before the 2001 season, they paid a $13.125 million posting fee to his Orix team and signed Ichiro to a three-year, $14 million contract. In 2007, Daisuke Matsuzaka netted a $51.1 million posting fee for Seibu and a six-year, $52 million contract.

The Blue Jays and Rangers are regarded as the front-runners to land the winning bid for Darvish. The Dallas Morning News reported that there was "buzz" that the Blue Jays made a "whopper" bid on Darvish, perhaps more than $50 million, while speculating that the Rangers' bid was in the $40 million to $49 million range.

Other teams reported to have made a bid are the Cubs and Yankees. It is not known if the Mariners bid.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com.

On Twitter @StoneLarry