Jed Lowrie rejoins A’s; Brett Lawrie likely to be traded

HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 15: Jed Lowrie of the Houston Astros receives congratulations from the dugout after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park on April 15, 2015 in Houston, Texas. All Major League Baseball players are wearing #42 today in honor of Jackie Robinson Day. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) less HOUSTON, TX - APRIL 15: Jed Lowrie of the Houston Astros receives congratulations from the dugout after hitting a home run in the first inning against the Oakland Athletics at Minute Maid Park on April 15, ... more Photo: Bob Levey, Getty Images Photo: Bob Levey, Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Jed Lowrie rejoins A’s; Brett Lawrie likely to be traded 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Oakland’s roster overhaul a year ago was an utter disaster, one that combined with numerous injuries to send a playoff team spiraling into last place.

In an interesting twist after their rotten season, the A’s are bringing back one of last year’s exiles. Oakland reacquired infielder Jed Lowrie from Houston on Wednesday, sending minor-league reliever Brendan McCurry to the Astros for the former A’s shortstop.

Lowrie’s return all but ensures the A’s next will move either second baseman Brett Lawrie or third baseman Danny Valencia. Both are drawing interest from American League teams, according to big-league sources, but Lawrie, obtained in the Josh Donaldson deal with Toronto last winter, is considered the better bet to be traded: He can play second and third well, he has an enormous amount of natural ability and he turns 26 in January.

In either scenario, Lowrie is likely to begin next season at second base, with Marcus Semien remaining at shortstop. Semien made 35 errors in his first full season at shortstop, most in the majors and an Oakland record, but he improved significantly the final month of the season. When asked about Semien’s status at the moment, general manager David Forst responded: “He’s a shortstop.”

Lowrie spent much of last season injured, including missing three months with a torn thumb ligament, but he is fully healthy again and he said he could play shortstop if needed. He’s happy to play anywhere in the infield, but he reiterated what he’s said many times: He would like to stick with one position rather than bouncing between positions.

“We have time to figure things out, but Jed is too good an offensive player not to be in there every day,” Forst said.

The A’s traded for Lowrie once before, acquiring him from Houston before the 2013 season for Chris Carter. At that time, Lowrie went from a last-place Astros team to a first-place Oakland team; now he goes from a wild-card Houston club to the last-place A’s.

“Weird, right?” Lowrie said.

Lowrie, a Stanford grad, lives in Houston in the offseason, and signed a three-year, $23 million deal with the Astros last winter when the A’s did not try to re-sign him. Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa’s emergence at shortstop made Lowrie expendable in Houston.

“Obviously when I signed in Houston, I was hoping to spend three years there,” Lowrie said. “But I respect (manager) Bob Melvin and I enjoyed playing for him a lot, and at least I’m going to a place that I know well and know what to expect. But I don’t know a lot of guys there anymore.”

Oakland made nine trades a year ago and also let Lowrie, starter Jon Lester, outfielder Jonny Gomes and reliever Luke Gregerson leave as free agents. It was clear during the season that the clubhouse dynamics were off, and Forst and Melvin have discussed the fact that things never meshed.

“You could tell there was talent on the field, but other stuff was going on that didn’t click,” Lowrie said of watching the A’s from the other side.

Bringing back a familiar face from successful A’s teams might help in that respect. “Certainly, that’s a nice side benefit,” Forst said, “but we brought Jed back because he’s a really good player and no matter what our roster is, he fits because he can do so many things.”

Lowrie, 31, has $14 million remaining on his deal and there is a club option for 2018 at $6 million with a $1 million buyout.

Left-hander Daniel Coulombe was designated for assignment to make room for Lowrie. Right-hander A.J. Griffin, designated for assignment last week, was released. A starter for the 2012-13 playoff teams, Griffin wasn’t effective in the minors after returning from Tommy John surgery and was shut down with shoulder tightness.

McCurry, 23, led the A’s organization in saves with 27 between Class-A Stockton and Double-A Midland and struck out 82 batters in 63 innings.

Lowrie hit .290 with 21 homers and 125 RBIs in 290 games with Oakland from 2013-14. He had a .222 average with nine homers and 30 RBIs in 69 games with Houston in 2015.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail sslusser@sfchronicle.com. Twitter@susansslusser