Report: Astros in serious pursuit of this star pitcher

Even though the MLB offseason is essentially over, the Houston Astros may have one big splash left to make.

The Astros have launched a serious pursuit of free-agent pitcher Blake Snell, according to Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The Astros have been engaged with Snell and that interest appears to have intensified on Friday.

The shift may be down to Houston suffering another pitching injury, as Jose Urquidy left a minor-league game on Friday with elbow soreness. The Astros already will be without Lance McCullers and Luis Garcia for at least the first half of the season and there are doubts whether Justin Verlander will be ready to go on Opening Day. Those injuries have left the Astros with a major lack of starting pitching.

Snell is believed to be seeking a three-year contract with two opt outs, similar to those signed by Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman. The Astros would likely have to pay Snell at least $30 million annually to get a deal done.

The notion of Snell being an Astros target quietly popped up earlier in the week, but the situation has clearly accelerated. Previously, Snell did not appear to have any real momentum toward a deal with anyone, even with Opening Day looming in less than two weeks.

Snell is the reigning NL Cy Young winner after going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA for the San Diego Padres in 2023. His hope was to land a long-term deal during the offseason, but with no team offering the combination of length and money he was looking for, he has been forced to compromise on his asking price.