A name from the recent past of the Houston Astros could be a candidate for the open baseball operation’s job for the Chicago White Sox, per MLB.com.
In a tweet from an MLB reporter, former Astros general manager James Click is listed as a potential candidate for the job, which came open earlier this week when team owner Jerry Reinsdorf cleaned house.
Click is currently a vice president of strategy with the Toronto Blue Jays. But, before that, he helped build the Astros’ 2022 World Series team.
The Astros hired him as general manager in January of 2020 after the team’s cheating scandal had been put to bed, which ultimately led to the suspensions of general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch.
The Astros also hired manager Dusty Baker at the same time as Click.
Click helped guide the Astros through the COVID-19 pandemic 2020, where they failed to reach the World Series, and in 2021, when the Astros reached the World Series but lost to the Atlanta Braves.
Last season with Click as general manager the Astros won 106 games, the second-highest total in franchise history and won a World Series for the second time in six years.
After the season, he and the Astros were unable to reach terms on a new deal and Click departed. Reportedly, Astros owner Jim Crane only offered Click a one-year contract with a $1 million raise in a business where successful GMs usually get multi-year offers.
The Astros brought in Dana Brown to replace Click.
Before Click joined the Astros he was a long-time staffer with the Tampa Bay Rays who eventually rose to vice president of baseball operations.
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