MLB announced its full schedule for the 2026 Spring Training season today, for both the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues. And trust us … there are lots of twists and turns to be aware of this year as you make your plans to head south for some preseason baseball. 

Games will begin on Friday, February 20th, and will run through Tuesday, March 24. The 2026 regular season will begin on Wednesday, March 25, featuring just one game: the San Francisco Giants hosting the New York Yankees.

But let’s take a look at all of the quirks in this year’s schedule so you can plan the best roadtrip possible.

College and Minor League team exhibitions

There will be seven games featuring MLB teams playing against college teams, minor league teams, or even a Mexican League squad.

• The Boston Red Sox will play Northeastern University on Friday, February 20 at JetBlue Park in Ft. Myers, Florida
• The Minnesota Twins will play the University of Minnesota on Friday, February 20 at Lee Health Sports Complex in Ft. Myers, Florida
• The San Francisco Giants will play the Sacramento Rail Cats (MiLB) on Sunday, March 22 at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, California
• The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (MiLB) will play the Houston Astros on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24 at CACTI Park in West Palm Beach, Florida
• The Monterrey Sultanes (Mexican League) will play the San Francisco Giants on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24 at Oracle Park in San Francisco

International tune-ups for the World Baseball Classic

The 20 teams playing in the World Baseball Classic will each have two exhibition games against MLB clubs on March 3 and 4. 

The rosters for the international teams is partially known, but won’t be finalized for a few more months. But you should definitely keep an eye on that before making your Spring Training plans, because it’s possible that a player you might want to see could be playing for his national team that day. 

For example, if you wanted to see Aaron Judge with the Yankees, we already know that he’s on Team USA, which means you wouldn’t get to see him on March 3 when the Yankees play Panama, because he’d be playing for Team USA against the Giants. He also won’t be available for any of the Spring Training games that are happening when the World Baseball Classic is being played (March 6-17 in the United States, although the round robin stage will end on March 11, so the players on teams that are knocked out will likely return to their Major League ballclubs immediately after they get bounced).

Tuesday, March 3 schedule

Wednesday, March 4 schedule

Cross-league matchups

There will be a few games featuring Grapefruit League teams taking on Cactus League teams.

• The New York Yankees will play the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, on Monday, March 23, and Tuesday, March 24. This is because the Yankees will open their regular season at the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, March 25.
• The Detroit Tigers will play the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Tuesday, March 24. This is because the Tigers will open their season in San Diego against the Padres on Thursday, March 26.

MLB Stadium exhibition games

Several teams will play their final home games of Spring Training at their home MLB stadiums, including:

Out of Market Games

• The Athletics will host the Angels on March 7 and 8 at Las Vegas Ballpark as they begin drumming up support in their future home city.

• The St. Louis Cardinals will visit the Springfield Cardinals, their Double-A affiliate, at Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri (215 miles from Busch Stadium). Capacity at Hammons is less than 11,000, so if you’re thinking about attending, keep a close eye on tickets.

What else is happening in Phoenix during the Cactus League

Innings Festival:  a two-weekend concert series organized by Major League Baseball. It will take place on February 20-22 and 27-28. For more information, click here.

Phoenix Suns: the Suns will have 10 home games during Spring Training. They play at Mortgage Matchup Center in downtown Phoenix (formerly Footprint Center and PHX Arena).

Harlem Globetrotters: for those of you bringing your kids to Spring Training, the Harlem Globetrotters will be at the Mortgage Matchup Center in downtown Phoenix on February 28, and the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale on March 1.

What else is happening in Florida during the Grapefruit League

It’s harder to outline what’s happening during the Grapefruit League because the teams are spread out between Tampa, Fort Myers, West Palm Beach, and Port St. Lucie. But here are the big events happening in Florida during that time:

The Miami Open: one of the premier non-grand slams in tennis, the event takes place on the grounds of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami from March 15-29.

Miami Heat and Florida Panthers: the two teams have a combined 15 games taking place during Spring Training. The Panthers play in Sunrise (a western suburb of Ft. Lauderdale), and the Heat play in downtown Miami.

Tampa Bay Lightning: the Lightning have six home games at the recently renamed Benchmark International Arena in downtown Tampa.

Orlando Magic: the Magic have nine home games during Spring Training, and are located just 90 miles from downtown Tampa.

Banana Ball: there will be three Banana Ball games in Tallahassee on February 26-28.
World Baseball Classic: one of the tournament’s host venues is loanDepot Park in Miami, where games will take place on March 6-11, and the playoffs be there from March 13-17.

Bottom Line

It may seem like the baseball season just ended, but Spring Training is right around the corner. Now that the schedule has been released, you can start to move forward with travel plans. You’ll especially want to grab a refundable hotel reservation, as prices tend to be fairly high for the Cactus League (less so for the Grapefruit League, because the teams are so spread out around Florida).

It’s also a good time to start thinking about travel plans for the World Baseball Classic in Houston at Daikin Park and in Miami at loanDepot Park. Click here for our insider guides to each of those stadiums.