James Click Rejects Astros Contract Offer, Won't Return as GM After 2022 World Series
November 11, 2022
The contentious relationship between Houston Astros owner Jim Crane and general manager James Click has come to an end less than one week after Houston's World Series victory.
The Astros and Click parted ways Friday after he rejected the team's one-year contract offer.
Crane issued a statement about Click in the wake of his departure:
The team also parted ways with assistant general manager Scott Powers, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan:
Jeff Passan @JeffPassanThe Houston Astros also fired assistant general manager Scott Powers, sources told ESPN. Powers was a former R&D executive with the Dodgers who was brought in as an AGM by James Click in January. Now Click and Powers are gone from the World Series champions on the same day.
While it is unusual to see a general manager leave after the team wins the World Series, the move isn't a total surprise.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported before the playoffs that Houston would likely have to win the World Series for Click to keep his job.
An Oct. 27 report from The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal noted a number of issues that caused conflict between Crane and Click, ranging from the size of the baseball operations staff to Click's concern that other people in the organization influenced Crane.
Click's contract expired Oct. 31, five days before the Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win their second championship. He was in Las Vegas this week for the general manager meetings despite not having a contract.
The Astros re-signed manager Dusty Baker to a one-year contract Wednesday. Crane told reporters during the press conference to announce Baker's deal that he was "in discussions" with Click about an extension.
The Astros hired Baker and Click almost simultaneously in 2020 after firing A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow in the wake of MLB's discipline from the cheating scandal during the 2017 season.
The Astros made the playoffs in each of Click's three years as general manager. They reached the World Series in each of the past two seasons and won the title this year.
Houston's 106 wins during the 2022 regular season were the second-most in franchise history (107 in 2019).