A’s owner John Fisher has (let’s call it) “a reputation.” That doesn’t bode well for building a winning franchise in the desert.
John Fisher photo courtesy SI
John Fisher has a track record of hiring within rather than spending money to secure an outsider. He has a penchant for insularity, too, going with who he knows. So it’s interesting that reports say the A’s are targeting James Click, former Astros general manager and Blue Jays vice president of baseball strategy, as their next general manager.
If Click is interested, he must first weigh the pros and cons of working for Fisher, an owner who has not shown a commitment to building a winning franchise.
Meanwhile, interim general manager Dan Feinstein has to sit and wait, knowing he’s not a popular choice among locals. Fans have been slow to embrace the Athletics, largely the byproduct of Fisher’s niggardly spending habits. Many would prefer having a GM that they can get excited about.
James Click photo courtesy MLB
That means it won’t go well if Fisher removes the interim from Feinstein’s title, especially after the franchise went stale following Billy Beane’s and David Forst’s tenures. Besides, if the A’s wanted to keep the position in-house, they would have retained Forst. But that would have made no sense for another reason: he expressed disinterest in Las Vegas when the team starts operations there in 2028.
That said, Feinstein may be the only candidate left standing, as astounding as that is to stay. MLB GM positions are typically highly prized positions, but that doesn’t always mean it is. The question is whether any talented candidates will express interest in the A’s job.
Your average A’s fan wants a chance to root for a competitive team. What fan base wouldn’t? To get there, the franchise needs better leadership, a person who knows how to deliver and does.
Is Feinstein that guy? Click would be.
But how this story turns out will depend more (as they say) on “the politics of the thing” than “the thing” (that is, GM acumen). That always happens when politics compromises the proviso to “hire the best person for the job.”
