The Indians have signed 28-year old lefty swinging 1B Casey Kotchman to a 1-year, $3 million dollar deal.  Kotchman played in 146 games last year for the Tampa Bay Rays and he was 153 of 500 (.306 avg, .800 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 10 homers, 48 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.  He has now played in 791 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 693 for 2,588 (.268 avg, .733 OPS) with 276 runs scored, 59 homers, 332 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.  Kotchman doesn’t hit for a lot of power, but he really hit well overall for the Rays last season.  Kotchman is also a HUGE improvement defensively at 1B over anyone on the Tribe’s roster right now.  I hope the Indians signed Kotchman with the idea of using him almost everyday at 1B, instead of platooning him.  This was a good signing for the Tribe.