Friday, March 29

MLB reaches a labor deal: What’s next for Astros?


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Ninety-nine days after instituting it, Major League Baseball’s owners were ready to lift their lockout Thursday, striking a deal with the players union on a new collective bargaining agreement to end the sport’s messiest labor dispute in 27 years.

The new agreement must still be ratified before baseball returns to something resembling standard operating procedure. Still, lifting the lockout allows teams to contact their players for the first time in more than two months and unfreezes transactions, meaning the next few weeks might be the most frenzied in baseball history.

Procedural rituals that occur in December or January must be handled in March. The Rule 5 draft needs to happen. Teams must exchange figures with their arbitration-eligible players, and Houston has six: pitchers Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Framber Valdez, Rafael Montero and Josh James along with utilityman Aledmys Díaz.

Teams that did little before the Dec. 2 lockout now have about 25 days to address their roster deficiencies. More than 100 free agents remain unsigned, none more prominent than Carlos Correa. Clubs committed to shedding payroll or rebuilding will trade their most valuable assets in hopes of securing a slew of prospects.



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