The Houston Astros are currently 102-54 remain in the midst of the Golden Era of Astros baseball. Usually, in situations such as this one, shaking up the front office is one of the last points of discussion surrounding the team. It seems there's at least a little smoke, though.
General manager James Click might not necessarily be on the hot seat, but it's at least lukewarm. The Astros are "approaching a breaking point," reports Ken Rosenthal. He notes that a "problem" exists between Click and Astros owner Jim Crane. Via The Athletic:
Crane is difficult, demanding and heavily involved in baseball operations, acting almost as an owner/GM. He said he had no knowledge of the Astros' illegal sign stealing in 2017 and 2018, and some in the organization believe he took a more active role because he did not want to get blind-sided and embarrassed again. In any case, Crane does not trust Click the way he trusted Luhnow, with whom he worked for eight seasons, enduring a painful rebuild and then enjoying great, albeit tainted, success. Crane also is more inclined to act quickly and boldly than Click, who came from the Rays, a more frugal, deliberate operation.
This isn't Rosenthal's first mention of Click's job possibly being on the line. Back on Sept. 12, on a podcast, Rosenthal said there "could be some maneuvering if the Astros somehow sputter in the playoffs."
The report on Friday once again includes the qualifier that a playoff failure would be the "impetus" for a change.
Click, 44, started with the Rays as an intern in 2005, joined the front office in 2006 and became vice president of baseball operations in 2017. The Astros hired him as general manager to replace Jeff Luhnow, who was fired over the sign-stealing scandal.
The organization had one 100-win season, four trips to the LCS and one World Series appearance before 2017. The last six seasons have produced four 100-win seasons, five consecutive LCS trips and maybe a sixth this season. They've won three of the last five AL pennants and are looking for their second World Series title.
Front office turnover in such a situation would be pretty shocking, though there are extenuating circumstances here with how Click joined mid-run and the owner doesn't seem to have ever fully embraced him. Plus, once a team has raised the bar, expectations come with it. Just making the playoffs with a huge regular season doesn't always cut it for certain groups.