Big news for #BlueJays' front office. They've hired James Click, the former Astros GM who rejected a seemingly disingenuous one-year contract offer from Houston last fall after building a World Series winner. Click came up with Rays. He's VP, Baseball Strategy with Jays.
Former Houston Astros general manager, James Click, has joined the Blue Jays organization
Photo credit: Karen Warren - Houston Chronicle
Feb 27, 2023, 09:34 ESTUpdated: Feb 27, 2023, 09:39 EST
The Blue Jays have continued to make good hires for the front office.
Per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Jays have signed former Houston Astros general manager James Click. His role with Canada’s team is as the Vice President of Baseball Strategy.
This is a massive get for the Blue Jays, as the 45-year-old spent the past three seasons with the Houston Astros. As you may remember, the only good Texas team beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to capture the 2022 World Series.
Click has a track record of being an excellent front-office member, as he spent 15 years with the Tampa Bay Rays, leaving the organization one season before making their second World Series in 2020. The way the Rays have been able to run their organization has rubbed off on other teams, including big market teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and even the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays have been busy this off-season with adding acclaimed members to the organization. Long-time manager Don Mattingly was hired as a bench coach, while club legends Edwin Encarnación, Pat Hentgen, and Paul Quantrill were just recently added, as well as former all-star Víctor Martínez. In fact, you can even add World Series champion and veteran, Brandon Belt in this category, who they signed this past off-season.
On top of putting together an impressive on-field team, the Jays are also looking to get the best of the best for the front office, and adding James Click is a great way to improve the organization’s decision-making.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Houston Astros signed former Blue Jays executive Dana Brown as their general manager to replace Click. I guess this is a case of “you take our executive, we’ll take yours”.
Astros reached ALCS in all 3 seasons w/ Click, who inherited an excellent roster built by Jeff Luhnow's front office. Click's contract was a talking point during playoffs. Astros offered 1-year deal. Sides parted ways. Meanwhile, former Jays exec Dana Brown is now Houston's GM.
This is a great signing, and the Blue Jays mean business heading into the 2023 season.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Brennan_L_D.
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