NEW YORK (AP) – Major League Baseball’s acrimonious lockout ended when a divided players’ association voted to accept management’s offer to salvage a 162-game season that will start April 7.

Owners approved the five-year labor contract with a 30-0 vote.

MLB was expected to lift the lockout around 7 p.m. on its 99th day.

MLB’s roster freeze, imposed when the work stoppage began on Dec. 2, was to be lifted immediately, allowing Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa and more than 100 other free agents to sign contracts.

BREAKING: Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor deal, sources tell ESPN. While it still needs to be ratified by both parties, that is expected to be a formality, and when it is:

Baseball is back.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 10, 2022

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