So I haven't had anyone connected to the Astros tell me that Crane and Click are on bad terms. However, you are now the third person that has said this to me, that Crane has pressed Click to make more substantial moves and that it has caused problems. All I know is that the Astros firmly believed that after they made the deals two days before the deadline, that they were destined to make additional deals on the actual day of the deadline and that would include either an upgrade at 1st or a centerfielder. Obviously, neither happened and there was frustration by both ownership and the front office and some of the veterans as well. Also, Crane had said in the past he would have his son more involved in the decision making process, but since 2020 Crane has actually been even more involved with the club, in particularly in regards to issues at the major league level. Personally, I think you seize opportunities when you can, but I will also say that Click has been right keeping and believing in players like Valdez, Christian, Urquidy, Abreu and others who other general managers would have dealt. If the Astros do move on from Click, keep an eye on an internal option like Scott Powers or Sarah Gelles. If the Astros go outside the organization, Click has a relationship with Sterns with the Brewers.
why wouldn’t it surprise you? Click either tries too hard to find the diamond in the rough players ie Maton, Will smith, etc or is just too passive. His most prominent off season signing this last off season was Neris and the year before it was Baez? (Not including nor discounting the players he resigned). Sounds like it isn’t Crane that’s holding him back?
It would totally shock me if Click was anywhere close to being fired. The Astros went to the World Series last year and are the favorite to win the AL again this year. Click has been within budget, improved the farm, and fielded a team that meets or exceeds any reasonable expectations.
Nook the same person that told me about moving on from Click next season said the plan was to have Crane's son assume the role with others within the organization assisting him. Sounds like you're hearing this as a possibility as well.
It's not like Click hasn't done a good job maintaining our dominance in the AL but if the goal is to bring another WS title he's leaving a lot on the table. What he lacks for certain is the signature acquisition. Sure JV technically counts but that's almost entirely due to JV and Crane's relationship. Holding onto guys like Urquidy, Framber, and Javier are certainly stellar moves. But you know Crane is DYING to get another ring to validate this teams greatness bc make no mistake, another ring would cement this team as one of the all time dynasties. But signing guys like Hector Neris and Baez and Dubon while letting go of guys like Springer and Correa won't get it done. Assuming we can believe that Crane has given Click the green light to go big, it's not hard to imagine Crane being less than thrilled w Click's unwillingness to make the big move. Legacy is a huge motivator and this window won't last forever.
I can not fathom Click being in danger of losing his job. Luhnow was a great innovator who brought a complete new process of determining player potential and development. He wasn't perfect and by many accounts not the most ethical or nice guy but he did a beyond amazing job of raising the talent and performance level of the team. It's not fair to compare the two. Click has done a very good and respectable job which, considering where the team was when he took over, is the best he could do. When you inherit a 100 win, World Series level team, all you can do is keep it at that level. He has done that.
Click has spent by far most of his available money on re-signing players and overall is getting more bang for his buck than most GMs even with the injuries. If Click had made as many trades as people wanted in 2020 and 2021, the Astros are unlikely to have had more postseason success than they've had and would be a much worse team now. The Astros are in a really great position. Luhnow did a great acquiring most of the talent. Click has done a great job trusting player development. I think long term, Click should be judged primarily by how much talent he brings in through the draft and IFA market.
Haha, no way. Click getting handed that situation needs to be judged on WS rings. While I don't think he needs to be on the hot seat just yet, his timeline to WS rings is about as short as any new GM. He literally had to do zero rebuilding/building.
I think we were all initially underwhelmed by their deadline. When you're in clear contention, you have to shore up weakness' at the deadline. They did not do that for CF. That being said, I think Macini/Vasquez are going to end up having a bigger impact than other deadline trade acquisitions.
It's hard to fault Click for not getting Reynolds or Mullins. Neither guy was traded. Starling Marte was the move in the offseason
Everyone points to the Verlander trade as the type of move Click hasn’t made that he should have. But a LOT of things outside Luhnow’s control had to come together for that trade to get done. And Luhnow’s 3 other “big time” trades (Greinke, Cole, and Gomez) were a mixed bag; none of those 3 brought a World Series and the Gomez trade was a total bust. I would love to see a list of GMs over the last 20 years who have made a blockbuster trade at the deadline that was clearly the difference in that team winning the World Series. The Braves won it last year making the kind of 2nd tier trades Click made this year.
Well Verlander might be gone in the offseason. I would almost 100% say he is gone. Hunter Brown is ready and we have the rest of the Guys. I could see Garcia being moved in the Offseason maybe for a CF that Ownership wants.
I would almost 100% say he isn't going anywhere. Crane really likes JV in an Astros uniform. 2-4 year deals are exactly what the Astros prefer. JV wants to play for a contender that'll be good enough to get him to those career achievements he wants and the Astros give him that opportunity.
Along these lines, the Yankees and Padres were lauded for their big name moves. How have Benintendi, Montas, Bell, Hader, Soto worked out so far for those teams?
It is always tricky, when moves are made for the short term because the remainder of the season is not huge and the playoffs are such a small sample size. We really don't know what will happen.... for all we know Benentendi hits .500 against the Astros in the ALCS and wins MVP or maybe Pressly is out for the year and Will Smith starts shutting people down. I can say that there were those with the Astros front office that were very concerned with McCormick went down last game because they don't want or need any more second guessing how they approached Brantley and Meyers and the off season and the deadline. Had they lost McCormick, we may have seen some real scrambling.
What is and isn't fair is entirely in the eye of the beholder, who is Jim Crane in this case. I haven't heard directly that Click is in trouble, but have had several people say they have heard the same. I would bet money that Click is back, but I don't think it is entirely far fetched. There are personality considerations at play and Crane is keenly aware of how rare a window like the Astros have really is.
