The Houston Astros are surprisingly in a state of turmoil to start the 2022 offseason. After winning the World Series, they parted ways with general manager James Click and assistant GM Scott Powers.

A report from ESPN's Jeff Passan shows that Astros owner Jim Crane's influence over the organization was at odds with Click. Some of his choices, like looking to older former players Jeff Bagwell and Reggie Jackson for input, show that he and Click did not see the game the same way. Both of those players see the game more like Crane, which created a chasm with the GM.

“Crane, sources said, felt coming into the 2022 season that the team needed more ‘baseball men’ involved in operations decisions and invited Hall of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Reggie Jackson into the team's weekly senior baseball-operations meetings…Bagwell, who ‘Jim might trust more than anyone,’ according to one source familiar with their relationship and corroborated by another, was critical of the Astros' player-development system, even as it was graduating eventual ALCS and World Series MVP Jeremy Peña. Jackson, who joined the Astros in May 2021 as an ‘executive assistant’ despite never playing for the organization, yelled at members of the team's front office this year and later would apologize, according to sources.”

Click's squad is deep with several stars, both old and young, and the Astros are well-positioned to be contenders for years to come.  Now Crane will look to manage the team and try to convince Justin Verlander to re-sign, though that will prove to be tough.