"The Astros signed well-traveled veteran infielder Joe Thurston to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

The lefthanded hitter has played parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, totaling 384 plate appearances with his lone sustained run in the big leagues coming with the 2009 Cardinals. He is a career .226 hitter with a .305 on-base percentage and a .323 slugging percentage."