The busiest day of MLB hot stove season

• Tigers trade Doug Fister to Nationals | Brisbee: Here’s why everyone hates it

• M’s targeting Cano | More rumors

Ellsbury, 30, is a seven-year major league veteran who had spent his entire career with the Red Sox. He has led the league in stolen bases three times, including in 2013 when he swiped 52 bags while hitting .298/.355/.426. He has gap power and has hit double-digit home runs just once, when he blasted 32 long-balls in 2011 en route to a second place finish in AL MVP voting. For his career, he has a 789 OPS. Ellsbury is known for both his speed and his outstanding play as one of the premier center fielders in MLB.

• Tigers trade Doug Fister to Nationals | Brisbee: Here’s why everyone hates it

The Rockies had been shopping Fowler for some time, so it was really only a matter of time before they found a new home for him. Colorado GM Dan O’Dowd expressed last month that Fowler lacked the “edge” he wants to see from his players, something the Astros apparently have no problem with.

Fowler, 27, brought out his boomstick early on in 2013, but his power disappeared as the year went on. The switch-hitting outfielder launched eight home runs over 112 plate appearances in April, then could only muster four more in his final 380 trips to the plate. Despite his summer power outage, Fowler still put together a solid year at the plate, batting .263/.369/.407 in 119 games overall.

Gregerson, 29, has been a solid late-inning reliever for the Padres the last half-decade. The three-quarters slinger posted a 2.88 ERA and a strikeout rate of just over a batter per nine in 347 innings during his five years with the Friars, averaging roughly 73 appearances per year.

In Smith, the Padres get a corner outfielder who has been limited to platoon duty for much of his career. The left-hander batted .246/.331/.406 with 22 home runs in 851 plate appearances during his two years with the A’s, with 80 percent of those chances coming with the platoon advantage.

For the White Sox, the addition of Lobaton would give the team some much-needed depth behind the plate. The switch-hitting Venezuelan doesn’t provide much in the way of pop -- he hit .249/.320/.394 in 311 plate appearances last year -- but even that line would be a huge upgrade for Chicago. Five South Side catchers combined to hit just .196/.238/.325 in 2013, the worst mark in the American League by 15 points of OPS.

• Tigers trade Doug Fister to Nationals | Brisbee: Here’s why everyone hates it

The veteran right-hander had serious injury concerns (Tommy John recovery) going into Texas, but managed to keep a clean bill of health over 129 innings of work during his two years in Arlington. Nathan posted a 2.09 ERA, 80 saves and a strikeout rate of better than 10 batters per nine over that span, putting him among the best relievers in the game.

• Tigers trade Doug Fister to Nationals | Brisbee: Here’s why everyone hates it

Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik wouldn’t admit to meeting with Cano specifically, but did tell ESPN’s Andrew Marchand on Tuesday that they have “talked to everybody,” which would have to include the coveted second baseman.

The Yankees’ chances of re-signing Cano now stand at “less than 50/50,” per Matthews. The club last met with its former second baseman last Tuesday, where it’s believed he was presented with a seven-year, $160 million offer. That is a long way off from the nine years and $252 million Cano is reportedly hoping for, which is significantly down from his original 10-year, $310 million asking price.

The key players in this deal are Gentry and Choice. Gentry is a solid, if unspectacular outfielder who will help the Athletics while they are in a win-now mode. He has had a .759 OPS each of the last two years, hitting .280/.373/.386 over 106 games in 2013. He does not have much power, but stole 24 bases last year and has a nice eye at the plate. Gentry can also provide good defense at all three outfield spots.

Choice was arguably the Athletics’ top prospect. Rated the No. 80 prospect nationwide by Baseball America and a B+ prospect by John Sickels last year, Choice made it to the majors for a very brief call-up. Mostly, he spent his time in Triple-A Sacramento, where the 24-year-old hit .302/.390/.445 with 14 home runs. Choice has slugged 30 home runs in a season in the minors and has big-time power, while also demonstrating the ability to take a walk. Choice is from Arlington, TX and played college ball in Arlington, so this trade will likely give him the chance to play for his hometown team.

Johnson made $6.5 million in 2013 and is eligible for arbitration one final time before hitting free agency after the 2014 season. MLB Trade Rumors estimated he would earn close to $11 million for next season, money for which the Orioles are no longer on the hook.

Nelson has been rumored to be seeking a four year, $75 million deal, though it does not currently appear that any interested team will approach that number. Cruz played in just 109 games last year while serving a 50-game suspension for his connection to the Biogenesis scandal, but still managed to slug 27 home runs while hitting .266/.327/.506. He has a career 823 OPS and has averaged 27 homers per year the last five seasons.

The Dodgers already have a closer in Kenley Jansen, but they also have the money to pay a setup man like he’s a closer. That’s precisely why free agent reliever Brian Wilson continued to negotiate with Los Angeles, and is also likely why, according to Yahoo!‘s time Brown, the Dodgers and Wilson are now “getting close” to agreeing on a contract.

A few weeks back, Dodgers’ beat writer Dylan Hernandez reported that Wilson would sign with the Dodgers to setup, so long as he was still paid as if he were a closer, since that would be the role -- and paycheck -- he would give up by returning to the organization that plucked him off the scrap heap in 2013. He was phenomenal once he made it to the mound, free of the elbow problems that had plagued his recent past: post-Tommy John Wilson threw 13-2/3 regular season innings with a 0.66 ERA and 13 strikeouts against four walks, then tossed six scoreless frames with eight punch outs and nary a free pass in the postseason.

The Tigers have shown a great deal of interest in Nathan since the offseason began. First there were reports that the two sides had a mutual interest in one another, then the right-hander said on MLB Network Radio three weeks ago that he “loved” the Tigers organization.

The Tigers’ bullpen ERA of 4.01 in 2013 was the seventh-worst mark in the MLB and worst among teams that qualified for the postseason.

All-in-all, that leaves Anderson available in a trade to a team looking to bolster their pitching staff. Anderson held his own as a rookie in 2009, but broke out with a 2.80 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 19 starts the next year. Over a five-year career, he has a 3.81 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. Though he does not post monster strikeout numbers, he commands his pitches well and is very good at inducing ground balls.

Over his brief career, Anderson has shown just how valuable pitching depth can be: Since 2011 he has made just 24 starts and 11 relief appearances due to a number of injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery mid-2011 and returned late in 2012. After a few starts, an oblique strain cost him what was left of that season. Anderson was Oakland’s opening day starter in 2013, but made just six starts before a stress fracture in his foot cost him nearly four months. He returned at the end of August and worked out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season.