Houston Astros Sign Jed Lowrie, LA Dodgers Acquire Brett Anderson

By Cheri Cheng - 16 Dec '14 09:20AM

The Houston Astros have signed free agent Jed Lowrie to a three-year contract worth $23 million.

The Astros traded pitcher Mark Melancon for Lowrie in December 2011. In February 2013, Lowrie was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Chris Carter, Brad Peacock and Max Stassi. In his last three seasons, Lowrie hit 35 homeruns and 144 RBI.

According to Jon Heyman with CBSSports.com, the Astros will pay the infielder $8 million net year, $7.5 million in 2016 and $6.5 million in 2017. The Astros also has a $6 million option with a $1 million buyout in the 2018 season. Lowrie will add some much needed offense to the lineup.

Richard Justice tweeted: "Other than Altuve, Astros infield offense was poor. Lowrie a nice upgrade."

Lowrie is expected to become the Astros everyday shortstop.

The L.A. Dodgers have added 26-year-old Brett Anderson to their starting rotation. The Dodgers and the free agent left-hander agreed on a one-year deal worth $10 million with possible incentives worth $4 million.

Anderson has suffered many injuries that have limited his playtime. Over the past three seasons, he has pitched a total of 123 innings. Anderson has only pitched more than 150 innings during one season (2009) of this six-year career in the majors.

If Anderson can stay healthy, he could be a strong No. 5 starter for the Dodgers.