2027 Major League Baseball season
Professional baseball season in the United States and Canada
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The 2027 Major League Baseball season is currently scheduled to begin on March 24 and end on September 26. The postseason would then start on September 28, with the World Series running from October 22 to a possible Game 7 on October 30. The 97th All-Star Game is scheduled for July 13 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the Chicago Cubs.[1][2] The season is contingent on Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) signing a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to replace the one that expires on December 1, 2026. Without a new CBA after that date, MLB will lockout the players until one is signed.[3]
Collective bargaining agreement
The 2022 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and the players' union is set to expire on December 1, 2026. If there is no new CBA after that date, MLB owners are expected to enact a lockout of the players, which would be the first MLB work stoppage since the 2021–22 lockout. If such a lockout extends into late February or early March, MLB would then consider whether to postpone or shorten the 2027 season.[3] If a labor dispute extends further into 2027, there is the possibility of the entire season being cancelled, which would be the first time in North America a full season was lost since the 2004–05 NHL season.[4]
A major issue under dispute is MLB owners proposing to implement a salary cap. MLB is the only one out of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada to not have a salary cap. This is the first time that MLB owners have proposed a salary cap since 1994, which led to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike.[5] In late May 2026, owners proposed a hard cap of $245.3 million and a hard floor of $171.2 million, with a 50/50 revenue split[6] after deductions.[7] MLB commissioner Rob Manfred stated that a salary cap will lessen the payroll disparity between the teams. Like in 1994–95, the players oppose a salary cap since it would result in an overall pay cut.[3] The players' union has instead proposed, among others, increases in minimum salaries, increases in revenue sharing among the teams, and a "competitive integrity tax" charged to those clubs that do not meet a minimum payroll amount. The players union also highlights the fact that low-payroll teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays have been competing in the playoffs in recent years.[8]
Schedule
Major League Baseball released its 2027 schedule on July 16, 2026.[1] Pending the signing of a new CBA, each team would play 162 regular-season games.[3] The regular season is scheduled to start on March 24, with a standalone night game featuring opponents to be announced at a later date. The slate of Opening Day games is then planned for March 25, the earliest that it has been scheduled in MLB history.[1] No international games were scheduled this season due to the possible lockout.[9]
The 97th All-Star Game is scheduled for July 13 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, the home of the Chicago Cubs.[2]
The second half of the season is scheduled to begin on July 15 with a standalone game, leading to this season's "Rivalry Weekend" running through July 18, with 11 series featuring prime "interleague" rivals.[1] This season's MLB at Field of Dreams game is planned for August 12, with the Kansas City Royals hosting the Boston Red Sox.[10] The MLB Little League Classic game is planned for August 19 and will see the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Chicago Cubs.[11] The regular season is then scheduled to end on September 26.[1]
Managerial changes
General managers
Off-season
| Team | Former GM | Interim GM | Reason for leaving | New GM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | David Forst | Dan Feinstein | Fired | TBD | On August 7, 2026, Forst and the A's parted ways after 11 seasons as general manager and three straight playoff appearances from 2018–2020. Assistant GM Dan Feinstein was named interim for the rest of the season.[12] |
| Houston Astros | Dana Brown | None | Parted Ways | TBD | On August 24, 2026 Dana Brown and the Astros Decided To Part Ways with the team after four years as the general manager and two playoff appearences and no world series titles.[13]. |
| Los Angeles Angels | Perry Miansian | John Mozeliak | Fired | TBD | On June 26, 2026, Perry Miansian was fired as general manager of the team after six seasons with no playoff appearances. Mozeliak, who spent 30 years in the Cardinals organization, was named interim general manager of the team for the rest of the season.[14] |
Field managers
Off-season
| Team | Former manager | Interim manager | Reason for leaving | New manager | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | Alex Cora | Chad Tracy | Fired | Chad Tracy | On April 25, 2026, after a 10–17 (.370) start to the season, the Red Sox fired Alex Cora. During his eight seasons with the Red Sox, Cora ended his time in Boston with a record of 620–541 (.534) with three playoff appearances, including a World Series title in 2018. Tracy, the current manager of the Worcester Red Sox, was named as the interim manager. This is his first major-league managerial position.[15] It was announced on September 22, 2026 that Tracy would be the manager going forward, signing a three year contract through 2030.[16] |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Rob Thomson | Don Mattingly | On April 28, 2026, after a 9–19 (.321) start to the season, the Phillies fired Rob Thomson. During his five seasons with the Phillies, Thomson ended his time in Philadelphia with a record of 355–270 (.568) with four playoff appearance, including an appearance in the 2022 World Series. Mattingly, the current bench coach of the Phillies was named as the interim manager. This will be his third managerial position, having served as manager for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2011–2015, and manager for the Miami Marlins from 2016–2022 where he compiled a record of 889–950 (.483).[17] | ||
| New York Mets | Carlos Mendoza | Andy Green | Andy Green | On June 26, 2026, after a 34–47 (.420) start to the season, the Mets fired Carlos Mendoza. During his three seasons with the Mets, Mendoza ended his time with a record of 206–199 (.509) with one playoff appearance. Green, the current vice president of player development of the Mets, was named as the interim manager. This will be his second managerial position, having served as manager for the San Diego Padres from 2016–2019, where he compiled a record of 274–366 (.428).[18] It was announced on September 22, 2026 that Green would be the manager going foward, signing a three year contract through 2030.[19] |
Venues
This is expected to be the Athletics's third and final season at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, California, before they relocate to their new ballpark on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.[20] Similar to their 2026 season, the Athletics are scheduled to play their May 31–June 5 homestand at Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin South, Nevada, the home of their Pacific Coast League affiliate, the Las Vegas Aviators.[21]
On September 21, 2026, it was announced that the Detroit Tigers' Comerica Park would be renamed Fifth Third Park after Comerica Bank was acquired by Fifth Third Bank in February 2026.[22]
Media
Television
National
This would be the second season of the existing three-year deals with ESPN, NBC Sports, and Netflix;[23] and the sixth year of the existing seven-year deals with Fox Sports, TBS, and Apple TV.[24] All these agreements have clauses in their contracts that would extend the deals for an extra season if at least 60 games per team are lost due to a lockout.[25][26]
Linear television
- ESPN has the rights to exclusively broadcast up to 30 games mostly during the summer months, including Memorial Day games, second-half opener games, and the MLB Little League Classic. ESPN also has the option to air selected games on ABC.[27]
- Fox has the rights to air regional Saturday night Baseball Night in America games throughout the regular season, as well as the All-Star Game. FS1 would also have additional games on selected days (including Saturday afternoons).[28]
- Starting this season, NBC Sports will have the rights to air one of the annual special event games, with this year being the MLB at Field of Dreams game, and a contest during the final day of the regular season. NBC would also continue to air Sunday Night Baseball and MLB Sunday Leadoff. Most Sunday Night Baseball games will air on the NBC broadcast network, although it will instead be exclusively on Peacock during the early and late portions of the season due to conflicts with Sunday Night Basketball and Sunday Night Football. MLB Sunday Leadoff games may also be split between NBC and Peacock. NBC would also have Opening Day games, the All-Star Futures Game, and a primetime Labor Day game. NBCSN would continue to simulcast Peacock's exclusive telecasts.[10][29]
- TBS holds the rights to MLB Tuesday games every Tuesday night throughout the regular season, with the first-half schedule announced before the season, and the second-half schedule to be announced at a later date. Most games are blacked out in the home markets of the teams playing; however, TBS is allowed to co-exist once with a team's local broadcast.[30][31]
- MLB Network would continue to broadcast a regular slate of games when the other national broadcasters are not airing games. While most games will be simulcasts of the teams' local broadcast, select games are produced by the network under its MLB Network Showcase banner. All games are blacked out in the home markets of the teams playing.[32]
- In Spanish, UniMás and TUDN would air the weekly whiparound show MLB En Vivo (lit. 'MLB Live') on Tuesday nights throughout the season, the weekly studio show MLB Esta Semana (lit. 'MLB This Week') on Saturday nights, in addition to postseason coverage.[33]
Streaming
- Apple TV has the rights to Friday Night Baseball games throughout the season.[34]
- Peacock simulcasts all national NBC Sports games. The service also has the rights have for select exclusive MLB Sunday Leadoff games, and exclusive Sunday Night Baseball during the early portion of the season due to NBA coverage; and during the later portion of the season due to Sunday Night Football. Peacock-exclusive games may also simulcast on NBCSN. Peacock also has supplemental programming scheduled, including a whiparound show after every Sunday Leadoff and on the final day of the regular season.[23][29]
- The ESPN Unlimited, Fox One, and HBO Max's ad-free tiers simulcasts national games shown on ESPN networks (including ABC), Fox Sports (excluding out-of-market Fox games), and TBS respectively.[27][23]
- ESPN Unlimited and Peacock has the rights to feature a non-exclusive "game of the day", blacked out in local markets.[23][27][29]
- Netflix has the rights for an Opening Night game on the evening prior to the traditional slate of Opening Day games, the Home Run Derby, and an annual special event game.[23]
- MLB+ has the rights to stream a live stream of MLB Network and air the MLB Big Inning whiparound show.[35][36]
- MLB.tv has the rights to stream everything on MLB+, along with all out-of-market non-nationally televised games (including out-of-market regional Fox games). New subscribers to MLB.tv would have to subscribe through the ESPN app.[23][27]
Postseason
NBC Sports (NBC and NBCSN, with Spanish–language simulcasts on Universo) holds the rights to air all four Wild Card Series.[29] TNT Sports (TBS and truTV, with Spanish-language simulcasts on TUDN) holds the National League Division Series and the National League Championship Series,[30] and Fox Sports (Fox and FS1, with Spanish-language simulcasts on Fox Deportes) has the American League Division Series, the American League Championship Series and the World Series.[28]
Local
It is expected that MLB Local Media's in-market feeds will be fully integrated into the ESPN app by the start of this season instead of only being able to access them directly through MLB's platforms.[37][38]
International
- ESPN has the rights to air its games in Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, Africa, the Netherlands, and China.[27]
- Sky Sports has the rights to air NBC Sports's games in Ireland and the United Kingdom.[29]
Radio
National
- This would be ESPN Radio's second season of the existing three-year deal for national broadcasts, including Sunday Night Baseball, the All-Star Game, and postseason games.[27]
- This would be the fourth season of the league's five-year deal with SiriusXM and SiriusXM Canada to simulcast all 30 teams' local regular season and postseason broadcasts.[39]
Notes
- Pending the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement