{"id":68525,"date":"2024-03-17T19:14:12","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T23:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=68525"},"modified":"2024-03-17T19:14:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-17T23:14:12","slug":"astros-serious-pursuit-blake-snell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/03\/17\/astros-serious-pursuit-blake-snell\/","title":{"rendered":"Blake Snell Open to Short Term Deal with World Series Contender"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Houston Astros are reportedly in \u201cserious pursuit\u201d of reigning NL Cy Young winner and top free-agent pitcher <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/snellbl01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Blake Snell<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The Astros rotation has seen a lot of changes over the past two months, raising concerns about the health of their pitching staff. It is unclear how close the two could be on a deal, but all signs point to Houston offering Snell a short-term contract.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Blake Snell has told the Houston Astros that he\u2019s willing to sign a short-term deal to join them, but wants at least a 2-year guarantee for $66 million with an opt-out after the 2024 season, per <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BNightengale?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BNightengale<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dPB2NQiqfS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/dPB2NQiqfS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JustBB_Media\/status\/1769368964008689949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">March 17, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Astros already knew they would be without <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcculla02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lance McCullers Jr.<\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luis Garc\u00eda<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the early part of the upcoming season. Then it was announced that Houston\u2019s ace, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/verlaju01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Verlander<\/a>, would begin the season on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/03\/05\/justin-verlander-start-season-il\/\" target=\"_self\">injured list with shoulder soreness<\/a>. That left Houston with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valdefr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Framber Valdez<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/j\/javiecr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cristian Javier<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/u\/urquijo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jos\u00e9 Urquidy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=brownhu01,brown-008hun,brown-006hun,brown-004hun,brown-007hun&amp;search=Hunter+Brown&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hunter Brown<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/francjp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">J.P. France<\/a> in their Opening Day rotation. However, that was before news broke on Friday that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jos\u00e9 Urquidy<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> had pulled himself from a game with a \u201csore elbow\u201d after 43 pitches. Urquidy flew back to Houston on Saturday to be evaluated by the team\u2019s medical staff and to have an MRI.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Houston Astros Reportedly in &#8220;Serious Pursuit&#8221; of Blake Snell<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">General manager Dana Brown recently said that he wasn\u2019t looking for more starting pitching, but he seems to have reconsidered. If Urquidy\u2019s injury causes him to miss time, it would almost force Houston to add another arm to their rotation. When reliever <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/graveke01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kendall Graveman<\/a> required season-ending shoulder surgery, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/01\/20\/what-signing-josh-hader-means-for-the-astros\/\" target=\"_self\">Astros signed<\/a> closer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/haderjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Hader<\/a> to a five-year contract. So, with Urquidy now injured, is it time for the Astros to sign Blake Snell?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before the injury to Urquidy, Dana Brown spoke about Snell, saying,<a href=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/5344372\/2024\/03\/15\/blake-snell-astros-mlb\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> \u201cwe check in to ask what is the latest.\u201d<\/a> Snell is the most expensive free agent on the market and reportedly turned down a six-year, $150 million offer from the Yankees. The 31-year-old told the Astros that he would sign a short-term deal, but he wants a 2-year guarantee for $66 million with an opt-out after 2024. The question is if Jim Crane is willing to sign Snell for the $32 million annual salary that he\u2019s seeking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 32 starts last season, Snell pitched to a 2.25 ERA and won his second career Cy Young Award. He was tied for third in strikeouts and led the league in both ERA and hits per nine innings. Snell was originally looking for a long-term contract but now seems open to considering a short-term guaranteed contract with opt-outs. The Astros need another quality starter, and getting one in Blake Snell would certainly boost their rotation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Snell&#8217;s Potential Impact on the Astros<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Astros reportedly &#8220;are intrigued,\u201d but are the latest to balk at Snell\u2019s high asking price. They began discussions with Snell\u2019s agent Scott Boras earlier this week, but are reportedly waiting for his price to drop. If Houston signs Snell for what he\u2019s asking, it would put the team over the third luxury tax threshold. Houston\u2019s competitive balance tax for the upcoming season is estimated to be around $256 million <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/roster-resource\/depth-charts\/astros\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to Fangraphs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A contract anywhere near Snell\u2019s asking price would put them over both the second penalization of $257 million and the third penalization of $277 million. Since Houston didn\u2019t exceed the CBT last year, they wouldn\u2019t face excessive repeat payor fees that other interested teams would.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like Hader, signing Snell would also impact the Astros&#8217; farm system because he rejected a qualifying offer from the Padres. Houston would have to forfeit their third and sixth-highest picks as well as $500,000 from their international pool.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Astros are an excellent team and, in a way, signing Snell now would mimic trading for Verlander in 2017. Before that trade, the Astros were talented enough to be a contender, but Verlander made them better. The same thing could be said about signing Blake Snell. Houston has the talent to get back to the World Series, but adding another quality starter would only make them better. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like when they first added Verlander, Crane has been very vocal about his affinity for Snell. That makes it seem like it&#8217;s only a matter of time before Snell arrives in Houston. Houston would be upping the ante this season with a rotation led by Verlander, Snell, and Valdez with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/p\/pressry01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-03-17_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ryan Pressly<\/a> and Josh Hader as the Astros closers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Photo Credit: \u00a9 Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Houston Astros are reportedly in \u201cserious pursuit\u201d of reigning NL Cy Young winner and top free-agent pitcher Blake Snell. The Astros rotation has seen a lot of changes over the past two months, raising concerns about the health of their pitching staff. It is unclear how close the two could be on a deal, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4975,"featured_media":68542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,2,1071],"tags":[2359,3911,2182,247,3912,3445,351],"class_list":["post-68525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-featured","category-mlb","tag-framber-valdez","tag-jose-urquidy","tag-josh-hader","tag-justin-verlander","tag-lance-mccullers-jr","tag-luis-garcia","tag-world-series"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4975"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}