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Odds & Ends: Alvarez, Strasburg, Church, Rays

Links for Saturday...

• Pirates' GM Neal Huntington said that Pedro Alvarez will remain in the minors so he can get more at-bats against lefthanded pitchers, though Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette mentions that it could have to do with pushing his service time clock back.
• ESPN's Keith Law broke down Stephen Strasburg's demotion to the minors, and says that "what he does need to improve is only going to improve in the big leagues."
• Ryan Church spoke to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo about his opportunity with the Pirates, saying that "It's either reestablish yourself and be one of the main guys or just be a fourth outfielder from here on out."
• Rays Executive VP Andrew Friedman says the club will explore internal and external options to replace J.P. Howell, tweets Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times.  Tampa Bay hopes to have the lefty back by May.
• Most players never shed the dreaded "4A" label, but the Pirates' Garrett Jones did, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
• Tom Tango will be a big part of the Blue Jays' front office, writes Robert Cribb of The Toronto Star. 
• Indians closer Kerry Wood could miss up to two months with a strained back muscle.  Brady Gardiner of SIRIUS XM tweets that this is a blessing for the Tribe as Wood's option for 2011 likely will not vest.  The 32-year-old would make $11MM in '11 with 55 games finished in 2010.
• Dodgers manager Joe Torre has confidence in Ronnie Belliard's ability to play first base, writes Tony Jackson of ESPNLosAngeles.com.  This will likely leave first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz on the outside looking in as he jostles with Garrett Anderson for the club's left-handed pinch hitting spot.  However, Belliard still must weigh in at 209 pounds or less at some point during Spring Training to guarantee his deal.
• At the age of 47, Jamie Moyer has no interest in retiring, writes Jayson Stark of ESPN.  Moyer is entering the final season of a two-year, $13MM deal.

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