ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Astros are interested in free agent lefties Tom Glavine and Jeremy Affeldt and have also inquired about Florida southpaw Dontrelle Willis.

"[Astros assistant general manager of baseball operations] David [Gottfried] talked to [agent] Gregg Clifton right after Glavine filed [for free agency]," Astros GM Ed Wade confirmed Wednesday.

The Astros cannot negotiate with other teams' free agents until Nov. 13, but they are permitted to notify such free agents of their interest.

Gottfried also informed Affeldt's agent, Michael Moye, of Houston's interest in his client.

"When we looked at the market for bullpen help, Affeldt is way up there on our list, so we want to make a pitch to him and make sure he knew we wanted to talk to him at the appropriate time," Wade said.

Wade is not permitted to discuss Willis, since Willis is not a free agent, but multiple Major League sources told MLB.com the Astros are among the teams that are interested in making a deal for Willis and/or third baseman Miguel Cabrera.

The sources stressed, however, that the Astros appear to be unlikely to land either player.

"Houston just doesn't have a match unless they're willing to deal [Roy] Oswalt, which clearly they're not," one source said.

In any event, Oswalt has a no-trade clause.

The Marlins aren't actively shopping Willis and Cabrera, but they have let clubs know they will listen to offers as both are eligible for arbitration and stand to make considerable raises.

Wade won't guess what Houston's chances are to sign the team's free agent targets.

"From a starting pitching standpoint, I don't think this market is going to yield anything for us, but you still have to go through the process and try," Wade said.

Wade has pursued Glavine before, when Glavine was a free agent during the winter of 2002-03 and Wade was GM of the Phillies.

"I tried to sign Tom in Philadelphia when he signed with the Mets," Wade recalled. "At that time, we were pursuing he and Paul Byrd and Jamie Moyer, Glavine was at the top of our list.

"We were shut out. [On] Dec. 20, the tender deadline, I got in my car to drive to the office and turned on my cell phone, and there was a message from [former Atlanta GM] John Schuerholz. I called him when I got to the office, he said, 'Would [you] have interest in doing Kevin Millwood for Johnny Estrada?' I flew all over the country, and we wined and dined Glavine and didn't get anywhere, and in the span of two phone calls, we had Kevin Millwood."

Glavine, 303-199 in 21 career seasons, went 13-8 with a 4.45 ERA for the Mets this year. The Mets would like the 41-year-old back, and Atlanta, where Glavine makes his home, also wants the 10-time All-Star.

Affeldt, 28, is coming off one of the best seasons of his six-year career. He appeared in 75 games for the National League champion Colorado Rockies, going 4-3 with a 3.51 ERA. He was paid $1.25 million for the 2007 season.

Gottfried also spoke with the agents for free agent second baseman Luis Castillo, Seth and Sam Levinson. Wade had a conversation with Larry Reynolds, the agent for free agent center fielder Torii Hunter.

"I ran into Larry this morning," Wade said. "David talked to Seth and Sam just to touch base, we've already had the phone conversations."

The other free agents the clubs have contacted include pitchers Scott Linebrink, Jon Lieber and Francisco Cordero, second baseman Kaz Matsui and center fielder Aaron Rowand.