Astros in hot pursuit of Blake Snell as his free agency lingers

Blake Snell’s free agency might soon be coming to an end.

The Astros are pursuing the two-time Cy Young Award winner, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.

The Athletic was the first to report Houston’s interest in Snell.

Heyman added that Snell threw a 60-pitch simulated game — which amounted to four innings — on Friday as he hopes to be ready for a roster by Opening Day.

MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported the Giants and Astros were in attendance.

The Astros are pursuing free agent Blake Snell. Getty Images

While most of baseball’s free agent market have signed on with teams, Snell, 31, has been one of the few major dominoes that has yet to fall as the start of the season looms.

According to The Athletic, Snell is seeking a similar deal to the ones Matt Chapman (Giants) and Cody Bellinger (Cubs) signed that included three years but with two opt-outs.

The left-hander is the first two-time Cy Young winner to remain a free agent this late into March, and with Dylan Cease getting traded to the Padres earlier this week, Snell remains the top option left on the pitching market.

Snell’s career has been up and down, with some brilliant seasons mixed in with some closer to league average.

But last year with the Padres, he thrived as he led all of MLB with a 2.25 ERA and just 5.8 hits allowed per nine innings.

He also added in a career-best 234 punchouts.

Blake Snell is a two-time Cy Young Award winner. AP

San Diego underwhelmed and underperformed lofty expectations, but Snell did not, and he claimed his second Cy Young Award.

The Astros are in need of pitching, as many of their top hurlers, including Justin Verlander, are on the shelf as the season approaches.

Verlander will miss the start of the year for a second straight season as he deals with a right shoulder issue.

On top of that, Jose Urquidy came out of a minor league start on Friday with a “sore elbow” on Friday.

Along with Snell, left-hander Jordan Montgomery — another client of agent Scott Boras — also remains on the open market.

After Gerrit Cole’s elbow injury that will have him sidelined for the start of the season, Heyman ranked the two lefties as the top two options for the Yankees to fill a top-of-the-rotation role.