The Houston Astros announced Friday that they “will not enter into a renewal for the 2023 season” with general manager James Click, a bizarre conclusion to a three-year run that culminated in a championship and somehow ended in divorce.
Click and manager Dusty Baker saw their contracts expire at the end of October and were offered only one-year deals earlier this week by Astros owner Jim Crane in the wake of the team’s World Series triumph. Baker, 73, opted to accept his. Click, 44, and Crane spent the week negotiating on a contract that ultimately did not come to fruition, leaving the makeup of the Astros’ baseball-operations department in doubt.
Crane, in his statement, wrote that the Astros are “grateful for all of James’ contributions,” a stark deviation from the tension that had grown obvious.
“We have had great success in each of his three seasons, and James has been an important part of that success,” Crane continued. “I want to personally thank him and wish him and his family well moving forward.”