Should the KC Royals call this championship exec?

When the KC Royals let Dayton Moore go and expanded J.J. Picollo’s baseball operations role in September—already the general manager, Picollo added Executive Vice President-Baseball Operations to his title—it was not clear whether Picollo would maintain both positions permanently or if the team would eventually hire another general manager.

If the Royals do decide to bring aboard another GM, the best candidate may be James Click, whose highly successful run as Houston’s general manager ended Friday when the Astros chose not to retain him just eight days after they won the 2022 World Series.

Click was hired as GM of the Astros in January 2020 after the team fired Jeff Luhnow following the club’s infamous cheating scandal. In three years, Click led them to the American League Championship Series in 2020, a World Series appearance in 2021, and a World Series Championship in 2022.

Prior to Click joining the Astros, he spent more than 10 years in the Tampa Bay organization. He started his career there as an intern in 2005 and eventually became the Rays’ Vice President of Baseball Operations.

Is James Click a good candidate to join the KC Royals’ front office team?

Click could be a valuable addition to Kansas City’s baseball operations staff. What particularly might make him a good fit is that he was with the Rays at the same time new KC manager Matt Quatraro was—Quatraro worked for the Rays’ organization from 2010-2013 and 2018-2022. After all, one key thing that makes an organization successful is its leaders’ familiarity with each other and their ability to work toward a common goal. Both Click and Quatraro have worked for the Rays and have seen firsthand what it takes to consistently be a playoff organization.

There has been no specific official word from the Royals concerning any move they might be contemplating to find a new general manager to work for Picollo. It’s clear their present management-related priority is to fill the remaining positions on the coaching staff. But if Sherman and Picollo decide that a different GM, or an additional experienced front office hand serving in some other important role, would be in the best interests of the team, Click may have become available at just the right time.

A good front office executive is available. Will Kansas City give him a call?