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Odds & Ends: Church, Ortiz, Thome, Beltre

On this date in 1998, the Angels signed Francisco Rodriguez as an international free agent. K-Rod, as he would later be nicknamed, saved 208 games in his dominant seven-year stint with the Angels, striking out 587 batters in 451.2 innings. Now a member of the Mets, Rodriguez is on the disqualified list after a Citi Field altercation led to a season-ending injury and lots of time in court. Here are today's links...

• Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he may start talking with the team's free agents before they're allowed to start negotiating with other clubs.
• Ryan Church told Andrew Pentis of MLB.com that he’d like to return to the Diamondbacks in 2011. The outfielder is a non-tender candidate after a lackluster season.
• David Ortiz told Rob Bradford of WEEI.com that he won't feel as comfortable next season if he's not on a multi-year deal. Big Papi has been hinting at an extension for a while, but the Red Sox can simply exercise his $12.5MM option if they'd prefer not to commit to Ortiz beyond 2011.
• Jim Thome told Charley Walters of the St. Paul Pioneer Press that he’s planning on playing again in 2011. If the Twins win it all, however, Thome says he would be tempted to retire.
• Jon Heyman of SI.com predicts (on Twitter) that Adrian Beltre will end up with the Angels and Jayson Werth will end up on the Red Sox.

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