Report: Astros do not plan to move All-Star pitcher but unfortunately…
The Houston Astros would do anything to improve (but they won’t do that).
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports wrote in his column Sunday that the Houston Astros do not plan to move All-Star right-hander Framber Valdez this winter. But Nightengale does note that the Astros are at least listening to offers and that over five teams have already checked in on Valdez.
The 30-year-old has made the AL All-Star team in back-to-back years and is the best arm in Houston’s rotation along with Justin Verlander. In 2023, Valdez was 12-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 200 strikeouts over 31 starts.
With Valdez seeing a large salary increase in 2023 (from $3 million to $6.8 million) and now in line for further bumps during his upcoming final two seasons of arbitration eligibility, he has been rumored as a possible trade candidate for the Astros. But for now, it sounds like Houston is content with simply gauging Valdez’s trade value (with perhaps more openness to trading this bigger name instead).
The Houston Astros would do anything to improve (but they won’t do that).
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports wrote in his column Sunday that the Houston Astros do not plan to move All-Star left-hander Framber Valdez this winter. But Nightengale does note that the Astros are at least listening to offers and that over five teams have already checked in on Valdez.
The 30-year-old Valdez has made the AL All-Star team in back-to-back years and is the best arm in Houston’s rotation along with Justin Verlander. In 2023, Valdez was 12-11 with a 3.45 ERA and 200 strikeouts over 31 starts.
With Valdez seeing a large salary increase in 2023 (from $3 million to $6.8 million) and now in line for further bumps during his upcoming final two seasons of arbitration eligibility, he has been rumored as a possible trade candidate for the Astros. But for now, it sounds like Houston is content with simply gauging Valdez’s trade value (with perhaps more openness to trading this bigger name instead).
Blake Snell may be switching over to the other side of the NL West.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports wrote in his column on Sunday that the San Francisco Giants appear to be the leading candidates for the free-agent lefty Snell. Nightengale adds though that Snell will not sign with a team until fellow top starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto finalizes a deal first.
Snell, 32, is the reigning NL Cy Young winner thanks to a sublime season with the San Diego Padres where he went 14-9 with an MLB-best 2.25 ERA plus a career-high 234 strikeouts over 32 total appearances. He is by far the best southpaw available on the market (though Jordan Montgomery and Shōta Imanaga are among the options still out there).
The Giants already hit a four-bagger this offseason by landing star Korean outfielder Jung-hoo Lee. They still have other big aspirations too and are now favored to win the Snell sweepstakes on top of it.
