Marcus Stroman heads to the Cubs, Rich Hill to the Red Sox, and the Mets introduce their new players

Marcus Stroman leaves Queens for a three-year deal from the Cubs. Plus, Rich Hill gets a one-year deal from the Red Sox.

The collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the Players Association expired at 11:59 PM ET last night, and the club owners have voted to unanimously lock out the players today. Once it begins, no transactions can be completed and players will be barred from using their club’s facilities until the lockout has ended. Read this for more on the lockout.

Editor’s Note: During the MLB lockout, Just Mets’ daily newsletters will pause. We will continue to provide editorials each week, along with posts covering breaking news throughout that time period.

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MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wrote this letter to fans regarding the lockout, and the MLBPA has issued this response to the owners locking the players out.

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What’s Up with the Mets? 💭

• RHP Marcus Stroman officially signed with the Cubs on a three-year, $71 million contract

• LHP Rich Hill is headed to the Red Sox on a one-year deal (Boston Globe)

• The Mets held two separate press conferences on Wednesday — one introducing Max Scherzer and the other for Mark Canha, Starling Marte and Eduardo Escobar

• Mets GM Billy Eppler continues to emphasize roster flexibility and versatility, and isn’t ruling out another acquisition for the infield, he said during a press conference on Wednesday

• Eppler said the club will begin to formally interview managerial candidates very soon

• The Mets continue to show interest in 3B/OF Kris Bryant (Heyman)

• In need of back-end rotation help, the Mets are maintaining interest in LHP Yusei Kikuchi, who has multiple three-year offers (Heyman)

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Hot Stove 🔥

• The Mariners are showing interest in SS Trevor Story (Fansided)

• The Dodgers re-signed super-utility player Chris Taylor to a four-year, $60 million contract (The Athletic)

• The Angels officially re-signed RHP Raisel Iglesias to a four-year, $58 million contract

• The Angels and Padres, along with the Mets, are teams showing strong interest in 3B/OF Kris Bryant (Heyman)

• The Twins officially signed RHP Dylan Buddy to a one-year, $5 million contract

• The Diamondbacks officially signed RHP Mark Melancon to a two-year, $14 million contract

• The Phillies officially signed RHP Corey Knebel to a one-year, $10 million contract

• The Blue Jays are showing interest in LHP Yusei Kikuchi (Heyman)

• The Yankees are expressing interest in signing SS Andrelton Simmons (SNY) and SS/3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa (Dallas Morning News)

• The Reds have had recent trade discussions involving RHPs Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle (MLB.com)

• The Rangers are interested in a trade for 1B Matt Olson from the A’s (Dallas Morning News)

• The Giants have agreed to sign RHP Alex Cobb to a two-year, $20 million deal (The Athletic)