The Mariners have signed 30-year old lefty swinging shortstop Munenori Kawasaki to a minor league deal. Kawasaki played in 144 games for the Softbank team in Japan last year and he was 161 of 603 (.267 avg, .636 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 1 homer, 37 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. He has now played in 625 games in his first five years in Japan and he is 753 of 2,553 (.295 avg, .721 OPS) with 330 runs scored, 14 homers, 201 RBIs and 147 stolen bases. Kawasaki will be a longshot to win a bench job this spring with the Mariners.