The D-Backs have acquired righty starter Billy Buckner from the Royals for infielder Alberto Callaspo. 24-year old righty Billy Buckner will get a shot to compete for the #5 job in the starting rotation. Buckner pitched in 7 games (5 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

The D-Backs have traded Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros for Chad Qualls, Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez. The D-Backs figured that Valverde was going to make a killing in arbitration after leading major league baseball with 47 saves. 29-year old righty Chad Qualls will be a candidate for the closer’s job in Arizona (Tony Pena and Braden Lyon are the others) as he’s been solid late in games. Qualls pitched in 79 games last season for the Astros and he was 6-5 with 5 saves, a 3.05 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Qualls has now pitched in 262 games in his major league career and he is 23-12 with 6 saves, a 3.39 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. 27 year old utility man Chris Burke can play all over the place and he’s a hustler. Burke played in 111 games last season for the Astros and he was 73 for 319 (.229 avg, .661 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers, 28 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Burke has now played in 359 games in his major league career and he is 254 for 1,020 (.249 avg, .696 OPS) with 148 runs scored, 20 homers, 94 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. 24 year old righty starter Juan Gutierrez was the 3rd player the D-Backs received in this trade. He pitched in 7 games (3 starts) last season for the Astros and he was 1-1 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. This will likely be a good trade for both teams.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired Dan Haren and reliever Connor Robertson from the A’s for outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, outfielder Aaron Cunningham, 1B Chris Carter and pitchers Brett Anderson, Greg Smith and Dana Eveland. This trade signifies that the D-Backs are going for it all this season as no one in the National League can match their top two in the starting rotation of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. The D-Backs gave up a lot of young talent but Haren will likely be worth every one of those players. The 27-year old righty started 34 games last season and he was 15-9 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Haren has now pitched in 130 games (121 starts) in his major league career and he is 49-44 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Connor Robertson came along in the trade from the A’s. He pitched in 3 games last season for the A’s and he appeared overmatched as he was 0-0 with a 18.00 ERA and a 4.00 WHIP. He pitched 2 innings for the A’s and he allowed 6 hits, walked 2 batters and whiffed 2. This will likely wind up being a good trade for both teams as the A’s are officially in rebuilding mode.

The Diamondbacks have traded outfielder Carlos Quentin to the White Sox for minor league firstbaseman Chris Carter. Carter is a 21-year righty swinging hitter that played last season in A-ball. He played in 126 games last season and he was 136 for 467 (.291 avg, .906 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 25 homers and 93 RBIs. Carlos Quentin finishes his career with the D-Backs having played in 138 games. In those games he was 91 for 395 (.230 avg, .741 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 14 homers and 63 RBIs.