The Astros parting ways with Click was the first domino to fall in a surprising sequence of events after the Astros won the 2022 World Series. Despite reports of friction between Click and owner Jim Crane, many had speculated that a a World Series win would, however, be enough to overcome those tensions and keep the gravy train going. Instead, it appears that the hurdles were too high to climb, despite the Astros emerging victorious in 2022. After Click was removed from the picture, it was assumed that some of his recruits would also be let go, and indeed came through with Powers being sent through the door behind the click. Powers was the Dodgers’ director of quantitative analysis until he was hired by the Astros in January 2022. Also hired as AGM at that time was Andrew Ball, who had worked with the Click system in the Rays. No word has been released on his condition, but it’s fair to wonder at this point if Crane is determined at this point to reject anyone he deems to be a Click type. It’s worth repeating that Click was hired after the Astros’ record-stealing efforts in 2017 came to light after the 2019 season. President of baseball operations Jeff Lunow was fired and Click was hired shortly thereafter. Although the team continued to perform well, it seems that things were not so rosy behind the scenes. Despite the layoffs, Click and Powers and whoever else ends up leaving will certainly have a lot of interest from other teams around the league based on their track record of results on the field. The Astros are now dealing with a lot of turnover in the front office. In addition to Click and Powers, and whatever other moves may or may not come, some executives have already left for jobs at other organizations. A month ago, the Giants hired Pete Putila, another Houston AGM, as their general manager. Oz Ocampo, a longtime Astros scout and executive, was recently hired to be a GM with the Marlins. This puts the Astros in a strange and perhaps unprecedented position. On the one hand, they are world champions, having lifted the trophy just a week ago. That’s just the latest marker of success in a long string of results, as they’ve advanced to the ALCS in each of the last six seasons. On the other hand, they will have to fight quickly to fill a front office that is hemorrhaging members while they make plans for their title defense in 2023. Many wondered if David Stearns could be a candidate due to a few factors. He recently stepped down from his role as the Brewers’ president of baseball operations and into a more advisory role, and also was GM with the Astros before going to Milwaukee. However, he’s still under contract for one more year and said he’s not going anywhere, echoing that position today to MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. “I’ll repeat what I said before: I’m not going anywhere,” Stearns said. “I’m committed to advising Mark [Attanasio, Milwaukee’s principal owner] and [general manager Matt Arnold] any way i can. And this is.”
