What’s Next for the Astros, Click, Baker and Verlander?

The Houston Astros won the World Series on Saturday night, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. The win gave the Astros their second World Series title in the last six years. This leaves some questions on the futures of James Click, Dusty Baker and Justin Verlander.

Houston’s season came to a celebratory end, however, the team will soon begin to prepare for the start of another regular season.

Changes to the Front Office: James Click and Dusty Baker

General manager James Click and manager Dusty Baker’s contracts are set to expire following the 2022 season. They were both hired by owner Jim Crane in 2020.

Click is credited with acquiring both Christian Vazquez and Trey Mancini who both contributed to winning this year’s title. While Click has been a huge proponent for the Astros over the past two years, the status of his contract is still unknown.

“I’ve always said, if I win one, I want to win two,” — Dusty Baker #LevelUp pic.twitter.com/4kDi8tEmg7

— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) November 6, 2022

Baker is in a similar boat. Baker became the oldest manager to win a title, however, he said he is not looking to retire.

Crane said he will address the contracts in the coming weeks.

Asked Astros owner Jim Crane about the status of James Click and Dusty Baker, whose contracts have now expired. He said they’ll sit down and figure it out after the parade. More … pic.twitter.com/uHsMZ7Ehdr

— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) November 6, 2022

Justin Verlander

Justin Verlander re-signed with the Astros in 2021, which included a player option for the second year. Considering the pitcher was coming off of Tommy John surgery, the two-year, $50 million deal was quite low.

While there was uncertainty regarding Verlander’s comeback from surgery, he proved this year he is still capable of award winning performances.

Ahead of the next season, Verlander may opt out of his $25 million player option for 2023 and become a free agent. However, Crane is looking to keep the pitcher in an Astros jersey.

Jim Crane: “My first phone call tomorrow will be to Justin Verlander, see what he wants to do” pic.twitter.com/bLT0g3IcrW

— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) November 6, 2022

Astros Looking to Repeat

Following the moves made in the offseason, the Astros may be among the favorites to win next season’s World Series title. The last time Major League Baseball saw repeating champions was the 1998-2000 New York Yankees.

If Verlander decides to leave Houston for a higher paying contact, the team has young talent they can depend on.

https://twitter.com/astros/status/1589094487330115584?s=20&t=pgTJoZFx0tYW0I1X1Ze8LA