With the first game of the regular season just days away, here are three things well be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today: 1. Are the Astros in or out on Snell? Its been a whirlwind of a weekend for Astros fans, as the club was reported as being in of reigning NL Cy Young award winner . Its easy to see why Snell would appeal to them in particular, even beyond his pair of Cy Young Awards, as Houstons starting pitching corps will be without not only and but also and po sibly to open the season. Southpaw and right-hander are the top healthy starters for the Stros, but both took steps back from their 2022 performance last season. While adding Snell to the mix would be a surefire way to improve the clubs rotation mix dramatically, theres reason for skepticism about the odds of the sides coming together. Reporting yesterday described the Astros as to ultimately land Snell, casting doubt on the clubs willingne s to offer a deal in the $30MM range, which would push them past the third threshold of the luxury tax. Speculatively speaking, the club could pivot to a more affordable rotation arm still Marcus Semien Jersey available on the market should they be unwilling to stomach Snells asking price. Both and are still unsigned. 2. Will Pham, Padres complete deal? While the Padres 2023 Cy Young award winner appears to be headed out the door, another player could be poised for a reunion in San Diego. Veteran outfielder is reportedly in talks with the club on a with a salary in the $3MM to $4MM range. The 36-year-old makes plenty of sense for the Padres, who are set to enter the Seoul Series against the Dodgers later this week with and as their top options in left field alongside top prospect in center and star in right. Both Azocar and Profar were more than 20% below league average with the bat last year per wRC+. Installing Pham, who slashed an above average .256/.328/.446 in 129 games with the Mets and Diamondbacks, as the everyday left fielder would be a substantial upgrade. Even though San Diego is a clear fit for Phams services, they arent the only suitor for the veteran. The White Sox are reportedly involved in Phams market as well, where the veteran would presumably serve as a right-handed complement to and in the outfield corners. 3. Perez meeting with surgeon: Marlins youngster is reportedly dealing with , setting the right-hander up to likely start the season on the injured list. Its a brutal blow to Miamis rotation plans, particularly in conjunction with the shoulder i sues that both and are dealing with elsewhere in the rotation mix. The number of injuries plaguing the clubs rotation seems to be spurring an to the Opening Day rotation. Even more impactful for the club than the decisions on how to fill out the rotation behind Opening Day starter will be Perezs reported meeting with orthopedic surgeon Keith Meister, who performed right-hander s Tommy John surgery back in the fall. Such a meeting isnt nece sarily an indication that Perez is slated for a similar fate, but its a clear sign that the Marlins are taking the bout of sorene s in Perezs elbow seriously. Perez impre sed over 91 1/3 innings of work in his rookie season last year, pitching to a 3.15 ERA with a 4.11 FIP in 19 starts in just his age-20 season. Ian Kennedy Jersey