MESA, Ariz. — Just before the last Collective Bargaining Agreement expired, the Cubs made the acquisition that defined their pre-lockout offseason.
They agreed to a three-year, $71 million deal with right-hander Marcus Stroman, elevating their starting rotation hours before the Major League Baseball owners imposed the lockout.
The Cubs couldn’t have known then that the lockout would last about 100 days, with MLB and its players union agreeing to a labor deal Thursday, according to multiple reports. That timeline made it the second-longest work stoppage in MLB history. The new CBA will still have to be ratified.