Astros Signed New GM James Click to Long-Term Deal Despite Dusty Baker Only Getting Single Year
By Jackson Thompson
The Houston Astros are rebuilding their management, but it might not be entirely for the long term. While the organization has signed its new general manager James Click to a three-year contract, their new manager, Dusty Baker, is only getting a one-year deal, according to Ken Rosenthal.
The brevity of Baker's deal could be due to his age. The 70-year-old Baker was the most experienced and accomplished candidate for the Astros in the wake of their disastrous cheating scandal, but they might only see a man of his age as a short-term stopgap
New #Astros GM James Click signed a multi-year contract, source tells The Athletic. New manager Dusty Baker is under contract only for 2020.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 4, 2020
Baker's shorter-than-average contract may suggest his hiring was a bandaid for the organization. After being forced to fire their previous GM and manager when MLB's punishment for the sign-stealing scandal came down, the Astros had to make a hire without the ample time that is needed for a new managerial search, so they went with a beloved figure who is known for postseason shortcomings, grabbing a quick PR win.
Click, a 42-year-old Yale graduate, is an executive built for the future. Coming from the Tampa Bay Rays front office, Click was groomed by an analytically savvy organization.
His hiring by the Astros marks the latest poaching of front office talent from Tampa Bay, after the Boston Red Sox hired Rays' senior vice president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom to run their baseball operations.