Houston Astros Reportedly Heavily Pursing Blake Snell Following Injury
The Houston Astros are hot on the trail of one of the top remaining free agents.
According to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome and Ken Rosenthal, the Astros are pursuing left-handed pitcher Blake Snell.
The former San Diego Padres ace had one of the best years of his career in 2023 and would be a welcome addition to the Astros pitching staff.
In 32 starts last year, Snell posted a 2.25 ERA en route to his second career Cy Young award. He’s won the award on two different teams and each league.
He was tied for third in the MLB in strikeouts last season, leading in both ERA and hits per nine innings.
The Astros being aggressive to get an ace makes sense as with recent injuries it would be filling a need rather than being a luxury.
The team has lost four starters recently, including Justin Verlander and Jose Urquidy. They can’t sit idly by if they want to stay on pace with their divisional rival and World Series champion Texas Rangers.
Getting another quality starter is key and getting one of Snell's quality would be a home run find in a tough situation.
There’s a high likelihood that this will be a shorter bridge deal like the other clients of his agent Scott Boras.
Cody Bellinger signed just a three-year deal in returning to the Chicago Cubs and Matt Chapman signed a three-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, both contain multiple opt-outs and both are Boras contracts.
This could be a good sign that the two parties can reach a deal that they like, with owner Jim Crane historically shying away from long-term deals.
If the Astros do land him, they won’t have to wait too long as he has been training to be ready for opening day, working through simulated outings.
