The Tampa Bay Rays have signed first baseman Casey Kotchman to a Minor League deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated adds that Kotchman will receive $750,000 plus performance bonuses.  The assumption is that these payments are contingent upon the first baseman making the team.  Kotchman made $3.5 million last season.

If Kotchman makes the team, he will return home where he was born and attended Seminole High School in nearby Seminole, Florida.

Kotchman spent all of the 2010 season with the Seattle Mariners after he was traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Mariners. The 27-year-old is a lifetime .259/.326/.392 hitter.  He’ll have the opportunity to spell Dan Johnson at first base and get time as a designated hitter if he makes the big league roster.