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Smoke signals

• Indians catcher Carlos Santana, who has been working on a transition to third base this spring, did not appear in Wednesday's Cactus League opener. Manager Terry Francona said Santana would make his game debut at third on Thursday. Francona is not sure when Santana might resume working on catching drills.

"We don't know, to be honest with you," Francona said. "Some of it probably depends on how third base goes. I would say minimum, a couple weeks. We want him to go out there, be himself and then we'll see."

• Indians catching prospect Tony Wolters chipped in a run-scoring single and outfield prospect Carlos Moncrief made an impressive running catch in right field during Wednesday's spring opener against the Reds. Francona said getting to see young players perform is a highlight of Spring Training.

"It's fun," Francona said. "We tell our veteran players that they're getting ready for a long season. We hold them to a higher standard. But, it is fun to watch the young kids come in and play, because some of these guys, it's their first Major League camp. They're excited to be in there and we're excited to watch them."

• Indians first baseman Bryan LaHair, who is in camp as a non-roster invitee, has been gradually resuming hitting drills while returning from September wrist surgery. Francona said LaHair hit overhand tosses in the batting cage on Wednesday for the second day in a row.

• At the moment, the Indians do not have any "B" games on their schedule as a way to spread out the innings for the many pitchers in camp. Francona said Cleveland turned down a recent offer for such a game, adding that the Tribe has not ruled out mixing one in at some point.

Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian.
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