2:50pm: The Marlins are still interested in adding Gomez, reports Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). It’s not entirely clear whether the Fish are willing to swing a trade for Gomez or are hoping to pounce if he is ultimately released.

1:33pm: While the Cardinals initially kicked the tires on Carlos Gomez after he was designated for assignment by the Astros, ESPN’s Mark Saxon now reports that there’s “nothing doing on the Carlos Gomez front” for St. Louis (Twitter link). The injury to Matt Holliday prompted the Cards to check in on Gomez, but Randal Grichuk is 7-for-21 since being recalled to fill Holliday’s roster spot and, somewhat incredibly, all seven of those knocks have gone for extra bases (two homers, four doubles, one triple).

The Cardinals and Mets, two teams that were originally reported to be in on Gomez following his DFA, have now both stepped out of the mix for him — ESPN’s Adam Rubin reported on Monday that the Mets aren’t interested in trading for him — leaving the Marlins as the team to which Gomez has been most strongly connected. It’s not clear yet how serious the Marlins’ interest in Gomez is, but they were said to be considering him as recently as Sunday.

At this point, it’s now been eight days since Gomez was designated for assignment, so the Astros’ window to find a trade partner is dwindling. That closing window makes a release of Gomez considerably more likely, after which any club would be free to sign him for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum through season’s end. While Gomez comes with plenty of red flags following a reported hip issue last summer, a rib cage injury sustained earlier this season and, of course, a dismal .221/.277/.342 batting line since being acquired by the Astros in July 2015, it’s rare to be able to roll the dice on a player of his upside for what would amount to about $120-125K for the final few weeks of the season. If a release is the ultimate outcome, I’d think even the teams that passed on trading for him could circle back as a potential depth option at the very least.