MLB Owners Expected To Vote On Astros Sale At Meetings

MLB owners today begin a two-day quarterly meeting in Milwaukee held concurrently with ongoing GM meetings. As has become clear in recent days, owners are expected to at last vote on the sale of the Astros to Houston-based businessman Jim Crane. The long-delayed sale, reduced to $600M, will come along with a move by the club to the AL starting in '13. The proposed realignment, baseball's first since '98, would also create interleague play throughout the season.

Discussions on a new CBA, meanwhile, continue to near a five-year agreement. But a league source last night said, "We're close but we still have a little bit of work to do yet." As a result, a formal announcement of a new labor deal is not expected while the owners are in Milwaukee.