San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros Continue to Be in Battle to Sign the Top Starter After Attending Sim Game
The San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros attended free agent Blake Snell’s simulated game in Seattle on Friday as the two teams continue to be linked to him with less than two weeks to go until Opening Day.
Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com on social media:
Blake Snell threw four simulated innings on Friday in Seattle in front of scouts from teams including the Giants and Astros, per source. Those in attendance were said to be impressed with how ready he looks.
We heard on Friday that the Astros could be lurking in the background for Snell, and perhaps their urgency has been ramped up by the recent injury worry regarding Jose Urquidy, who left his spring training start early with arm issues.
Furthermore, the ‘Stros are without starting pitcher Luis Garcia for most or all of 2023 because of injury. They are also without Lance McCullers until July in all likelihood and Justin Verlander won’t be ready for Opening Day, either.
As for the Giants, they are also dealing with some pitching concerns as Tristan Beck is out indefinitely. Furthermore, the Giants have spent money on Jung-Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and Matt Chapman this offseason, so they clearly invested on improving upon a fourth-place finish in the National League West last season. Snell would help them further that cause.
Snell is coming off a year in which he went 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA for the San Diego Padres. He won his second Cy Young Award, having also won the AL Cy Young award in 2018 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Astros have that most sought-after of commodities: young, talented and proven experience. Jose Altuve, Yordan Álvarez, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Peña are all in their primes, and all are stellar either offensively or defensively, usually both.
Álvarez is the guy to watch. At age 26, he batted .293 with a .990 OPS last season and might have pushed 50 home runs and 130 RBI had he not missed 50 games.
Tucker, who will be 27, drove in 112 runs, and the roster finished fifth in the majors in runs per game.
The rotation is led by Cristian Javier and Framber Valdez, both still in their 20s and both potential aces. Javier’s the guy who pitched two-thirds of the World Series no hitter against the Phillies in 2022. He produced a career-high 162 innings last season, and there’s no reason this year to expect anything less than 32 starts and 180 innings.
