Baseball notebook: Baltimore trades Tejada to Houston

Miguel Tejada was traded to Houston and Aaron Rowand joined the San Francisco Giants as major league teams made a flurry of moves Wednesday.

Andruw Jones, Jake Peavy, Andy Pettitte and Kosuke Fukudome also were in the news, completing deals that had been agreed to earlier. Slugging second baseman Jeff Kent confirmed he’ll return to play a fourth season for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and pitcher Mark Prior was let go by the Chicago Cubs.

Tejada was shipped from Baltimore to the Astros for a package of five players, giving the former American League MVP a fresh start. The Orioles received outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo for the four-time All-Star shortstop.

Rowand agreed to a $60 million, five-year contract with San Francisco, giving the club a Gold Glove center fielder.

Jones finalized his $36.2 million, two-year contract with the Dodgers and was introduced at a news conference. The former Atlanta star, coming off a poor season, has won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves in center field and joins Kent in a lineup that Los Angeles hopes will have more punch next season.

Fukudome reached a preliminary agreement with the Cubs on a $48 million, four-year deal to become their right fielder.

Peavy signed a $52 million, three-year contract extension with San Diego, the biggest deal in Padres history.

Pettitte and the Yankees agreed to a $16 million, one-year contract.

Outfielder Emil Brown (Kansas City), pitcher Chad Durbin (Detroit), outfielder Jason Tyner (Minnesota) and pitcher Mark Hendrickson (Dodgers) were among those not offered deals by the deadline, making them free agents.

M’s trade Broussard

The Texas Rangers acquired first baseman Ben Broussard from the Seattle Mariners for a minor league infielder Tug Hulett.

Broussard, a Texas native, hit .275 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 99 games last season for the Mariners.

Hulett was a 14th-round amateur draft pick by the Rangers in 2004 who played for the Spokane Indians and has yet to play in the majors. He hit .275 with 11 homers and 67 RBIs in 132 games at Triple-A Oklahoma last season.

The Mariners tendered an offer to left-handed starter Horacio Ramirez and left-handed reliever George Sherrill. The pair have the choice of agreeing to a contract or proceeding to arbitration. Seattle didn’t offer a contract to left-hander John Parrish.