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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics are being very active in the “hot stove” market. Not all the names involved are household names, but they are the pieces that Billy Beane and staff are putting together to make up the 2014 version of the Oakland A’s.

On Tuesday, the A’s announced a trade that brings right-handed relief pitcher Luke Gregerson from the San Diego Padres to Oakland. In exchange, the A’s sent outfielder Seth Smith to the Padres.

Gregerson was 6-8 with four saves and a 2.71 ERA in 73 relief appearances for the Padres in 2013. He held opposing hitters to a .203 batting average and right-hand hitters to just a .192 mark.

Gregerson made his Major League debut with San Diego in 2009 and has appeared in at least 60 games in each of his five seasons with the Padres. He has a career 2.88 ERA in 363 relief appearances.

Gregerson is the second major change to the relief staff that A’s have made over the last two days. Oakland also traded for  Orioles closer Jim Johnson.

Seth Smith batted .253 with eight home runs and 40 RBI in 117 games for Oakland in 2013. The left-handed hitter made 84 of his 97 starts versus right-handed pitching. Smith is a .265 career hitter.

Also on Tuesday, the A’s  acquired outfielder Craig Gentry and right-handed pitcher Josh Lindblom from the Texas Rangers in exchange for outfielder Michael Choice and minor league infielder Chris Bostick.

Gentry hit .280 with two home runs and 22 RBI in 106 games for the Rangers last season. He was 24 for 27 (88.9%) in stolen bases which was the third best percentage in the American League. The right-handed hitting Gentry started 49 games in center field and 20 games in left field for Texas in 2013.

Lindblom was 1-3 with a 5.46 ERA in eight games (five starts) in three call ups to the Rangers last season. He also went 8-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 20 games (18 starts) with Triple-A Round Rock.

Choice made his Major League debut with the A’s in the September call-up last year. He hit .278 with a double and a walk in nine games. Choice was the A’s first round draft pick in 2010.

Bostick spent the entire 2013 season with Single-A Beloit. He batted .282 with 14 home runs and 89 RBI in 129 games.