A's Acquire IF Jed Lowrie and RHP Fernando Rodriguez from Houston

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland A's acquired infielder Jed Lowrie and right-handed pitcher Fernando Rodriguez from the Houston Astros for first baseman Chris Carter, right-handed pitcher Brad Peacock and minor league catcher Max Stassi.

Lowrie batted .244 with 16 home runs and 42 RBI in 97 games with Houston last year, posting career-highs in home runs, runs (43), hits (83), walks (43) and games played.  He led the Astros in walks and finished second on the club in home runs, despite spending nearly two months of the season on the disabled list.  The 28-year-old switch-hitter began the season on the DL with a sprained right thumb and was also out from July 15 to Sept. 10 with a sprained right ankle.  Lowrie committed just eight errors in 93 games at shortstop for a .980 fielding percentage, which was the best among National League shortstops with 70 or more games.  He spent the first four years of his career with Boston and is a .250 career hitter with 35 home runs and 159 RBI in 353 games over five seasons.  Lowrie has appeared in 240 games at shortstop in his career in addition to 83 games at third base, 34 at second base and 11 at first base.

Rodriguez was 2-10 with a 5.37 ERA in 71 relief appearances with the Astros in 2012.  He struck out 78 batters in 70.1 innings and allowed 14 of 56 (25.0%) inherited runners to score.  The 28-year-old right-hander allowed a .252 batting average, including .226 against left-handed hitters and .203 against first batters faced.  Rodriguez pitched in 47 games with Houston in 2011 and made his Major League debut with Los Angeles (AL) in 2009, appearing in one contest.  He is 4-13 with a 4.89 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 123.1 innings over 119 career appearances.

Carter batted .239 with 16 home runs and 39 RBI in 67 games with the A's last year following a late June promotion from Triple-A Sacramento.  He ranked third among American League rookies in home runs and walks (39) and was fifth in RBI, runs scored (38) and extra base hits (28).  Carter made his Major League debut with Oakland in 2010 and is a .214 career hitter with 19 home runs and 46 RBI in 106 games in three seasons.

Peacock spent the entire 2012 season at Sacramento, registering a 12-9 mark and a 6.01 ERA in 28 games, 25 starts.  The ERA was a career high and second highest in the Pacific Coast League, but his wins were the most in the A's farm system and tied for fourth in the PCL.  The 25-year-old right-hander allowed a .275 opponents batting average and struck out 139 in 134.2 innings.  Peacock was one of four players acquired from Washington following the 2011 season in the Gio Gonzalez trade and is 46-47 with a 4.32 ERA in 141 games, 126 starts, in five seasons in the minors.

Stassi hit .268 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI in 84 games with Single-A Stockton last year in a season cut short due to two stints on the disabled list with a sprained right ankle and strained right oblique.  The home runs were a career-high but 12 of the 15 were solo shots.  The 21-year-old catcher was originally drafted by the A's in the 4^th round of the 2009 draft and is a .246 career hitter with 30 home runs and 123 RBI in 239 games over four professional seasons