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The Houston Astros are at it again.
In January, they signed closer Josh Hader, the best closer on the free-agent market. Now, according to sources briefed on their discussions, they are engaged in a serious pursuit of left-hander Blake Snell, the best starter on the market.
Snell, 31, is believed to be seeking the same type of contract recently signed by two other Scott Boras clients, Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman — a three-year deal with two opt outs.
The Astros’ need to add another starting pitcher intensified Friday when José Urquidy pulled himself from a minor-league game after 43 pitches with a sore right elbow, according to manager Joe Espada.
Astros ace Justin Verlander will start the season on the injured list with shoulder inflammation, but could be back by mid-April. Two other Houston starters, Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia, are still recovering from elbow surgeries and not expected until well after the All-Star break.
The question is whether Astros owner Jim Crane is willing to sign Snell for the $30 million to $32 million annual salary the pitcher is believed to be seeking. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels also have been linked to Snell. But the Yankees must pay a 110 percent luxury tax on every dollar they spend, meaning Snell would cost them more than double his salary. The lack of state income tax in Texas would be another advantage for the Astros.
A trade of Urquidy, who is earning $3.75 million, could have created a measure of financial flexibility for the Astros, who repeatedly have dangled the pitcher in recent seasons. But with Urquidy’s physical status uncertain, the team almost certainly cannot move him now. And the roster does not include any other obvious salaries to move.
Snell would fit an obvious need for the Astros, not just for the present but also the future. Verlander could become a free agent after this season if he does not pitch the 140 innings necessary to vest his $35 million player option. Urquidy and Framber Valdez are under club control for two more seasons.
The team’s financial flexibility could increase in the coming years — third baseman Alex Bregman will hit the open market after this season, as will right fielder Kyle Tucker along with Valdez after 2025. But Houston already is projected to carry the largest Opening Day payroll in franchise history. With the signing of Hader, the club crossed the first luxury-tax threshold for the second time in Crane’s ownership tenure.
Like Hader, Snell declined a qualifying offer. Because Houston is on track to pay the luxury tax, the addition of Hader cost the team its second- and fourth-highest draft picks in the 2024 MLB Draft — at No. 63 and No. 135 overall — along with $1 million in their international signing bonus pool.
If the Astros sign Snell, they must also forfeit their third- and sixth-highest picks — Nos. 102 and 193. For a team with one of baseball’s worst farm systems — and still reeling from a lack of first- and second-round picks in the two seasons following the sign-stealing scandal — it would be a hefty price to pay.
Crane, however, is the same owner who traded two of his best prospects, Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford, for Verlander during last season’s trade deadline. The Hader contract was the biggest free-agent deal of Crane’s tenure. With Snell, the owner would be doubling down — and upping the ante in the Astros’ competition with their biggest rival, the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers.
The Rangers this week struck out in their attempt to trade for right-hander Dylan Cease, who went from the Chicago White Sox to the San Diego Padres. Texas ownership seemingly has prevented the front office from re-signing another of Boras’ clients, lefty Jordan Montgomery, while the team’s future local television revenues are uncertain.
If Snell goes to the Astros, the plot will thicken. For Montgomery. For the Rangers. For the entire American League.
GO DEEPER
Are the Astros the right fit for Blake Snell?
(Top photo of Blake Snell: Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
