The A’s have traded first baseman Chris Cater, starting pitcher Brad Peacock and catcher Max Stassi to the Astros for shortstop Jed Lowrie and reliever Fernando Rodriguez. Carter had stat lines of .239/16/39/.350/.514/.864 in 67 games with the A’s and Brad Peacock did not make an appearance for the big league club. Stassi did not make an appearance for the big league club last season.

Lowrie had stat lines of .244/16/42/.331/.438/.769 in 97 games for the Astros last season. He was off to a great start in the 2012 season,but injuries limited him to under 100 games. Even though the A’s have already acquired shortstop Hiroyuki Nakajima earlier in the off season, they still pulled the trigger on this deal. Lowrie will be a roving infielder. He get starts at every infield position except for first base. Rodriguez appeared in 71 games with a 2-10 record and an 5.73 ERA for the Astros last season. 

The Marlins have signed reliever Jon Rauch to a one year deal worth 1 million dollars. Rauch appeared in 73 games with a 3-7 record and an ERA of 3.59 for the Mets last season. He could be a candidate to close for the Marlins next season. Rauch has 62 career saves, achieving a career high 21 with the Twins in 2010.

The Brewers have re-signed shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a one year deal worth 1.5 million dollars. Gonzalez has stat lines of .259/4/15/.326/.457/.783 in 24 games with the Brewers last season. He appeared in only 24 games, because of a torn ACL during the season. Gonzalez will most likely be a bench player for the Brewers this season. The team already has phenom Jean Segura,who was acquired in the Zack Greinke trade last season will be manning the position.

The Pirates have signed pitcher Jonathan Sanchez to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Sanchez had 1-9 record with an 8.07 ERA in 15 starts between the Royals and Rockies last season. He threw a no-hitter in 2009, while achieving career bests in wins (13), ERA (3.07), starts (33), innings (193.1) and strikeouts (205) during the 2010 season. Sanchez will fight to make the starting rotation out of spring training.

The Nationals have signed Micah Owings to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Owings appeared in 6 games with a record of 0-2 and an ERA of 2.79 for the Padres last season. He had his best year in 2007 with the Diamondbacks. Owings won an NL Sliver Slugger award. He also finished 2nd in complete games and 4th in shutouts in the Nation League. He will try to find a spot in bullpen during spring training.