I seriously don't expect the Astros to make a push for John Lackey given the size of his impending contract, but it's still worth noting that half of the Texas teams are out of the Lackey sweepstakes.
According to the Dallas-Morning News' Jeff Wilson:
Daniels said the team will explore free agents but not on the upper end of the market. "We're going to explore trade opportunities first," Daniels said.
And one of the dark-horse candidates to land Lackey, Milwaukee, is likely out, as well:
Lackey, Brewers officials believe, would prefer to go to a larger market. The Brewers almost certainly would not make the best offer, and Lackey might only use their proposal to persuade other clubs to bid higher.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
