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Indians Notes: Kotchman, LaPorta, Cabrera

The Indians made one of their most significant moves of the offseason yesterday signing Casey Kotchman to a one-year, $3MM contract. GM Chris Antonetti explained the deal this morning and Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Jordan Bastian of MLB.com have the details:

• Antonetti said the Indians are still working to create 40-man roster space for Kotchman, Hoynes tweets. The Indians were in on Kotchman last offseason, Bastian tweets.
• Matt LaPorta will have the chance to win the first base job in Spring Training, but the Indians intend for him to play every day, Hoynes tweets. Bastian suggests LaPorta, who has options remaining, will likely open the season in Triple-A (Twitter link).
• Asdrubal Cabrera is in Cleveland and the team is discussing a multiyear deal with the shortstop, Antonetti said, according to Hoynes. MLBTR's Tim Dierkes examined a possible extension for Cabrera about a month ago, suggesting that a four-year, $27MM contract could work for both sides. Cabrera asked for $5.2MM through arbitration and the Indians offered $3.75MM.

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