MLB Off-Season Calendar 2026-27
The 2026–27 Major League Baseball off-season schedule includes early November free agency deadlines, the December Winter Meetings, and January arbitration filings. Spring Training begins in February 2027, leading up to Opening Day on March 25. The Hall of Fame voting results and various player drafts also occur then.
The 2026–27 Major League Baseball off-season schedule includes early November free agency deadlines, the December Winter Meetings, and January arbitration filings. Spring Training begins in February 2027, leading up to Opening Day on March 25. The Hall of Fame voting results and various player drafts also occur then.
However, the Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on December 1, 2026, creating a high likelihood of a labor stoppage. Disagreements over key issues such as salary caps, revenue sharing, and playoff formats could disrupt these scheduled off-season events.
MLB Off-Season Calendar: What Fans Need to Know
The MLB off-season for 2026-27 is going to kick off in a few weeks and there’s quite a bit to know; below is the official timeline for all of the events, if they end up happening (see after the events).
November 2026: Free Agency & Roster Deadlines
- 1 Day After World Series (Around Nov. 1): Eligible players officially become free agents. The trade market reopens, and teams have an exclusive 5-day negotiation window with their own free agents.
- 5 Days After World Series (Around Nov. 5): League-wide free agency opens at 5:00 PM ET. All contract options and player opt-outs are due, and teams must extend Qualifying Offers by this deadline.
- November 10–13: General Manager Meetings take place in Las Vegas.
- November 18: Deadline for players to accept/reject the Qualifying Offer, and the deadline for teams to add prospects to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft.
- November 21: Non-Tender Deadline. Teams must decide whether to offer a contract to pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players for the 2027 season.
December 2026: Winter Meetings & Drafts
- December 1: The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) expires at 11:59 PM ET. Everything after this is in question if a new agreement is reached; there could be a lockout and/or strike if the process stalls.
- December 7–10: MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida.
- December 8: Baseball Hall of Fame Contemporary Era Committee voting results are announced.
- December 9: MLB Draft Lottery determines the top order for the 2027 First-Year Player Draft.
- December 10: The Rule V Draft takes place, wrapping up the Winter Meetings.
- December 15: 2026 International Amateur Signing Period closes.
January & February 2027: Arbitration & Spring Training
- January 8: Salary arbitration filing deadline. Teams and arbitration-eligible players must exchange desired salary figures if they haven’t settled on a deal.
- January 15: 2027 International Amateur Signing Period opens.
- January 19: BBWAA Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2027 announcement live on the MLB Network.
- This years candidates: Alex Rodriguez (6th year), Andy Pettitte (9th year), Asdrúbal Cabrera (1st year), Bobby Abreu (8th year), Brett Gardner (1st year), Buster Posey (1st year), Chase Utley (4th year), Cole Hamels (2nd year), David Wright (4th year), Dustin Pedroia (3rd year), Ervin Santana (1st year), Félix Hernández (3rd year), Francisco Rodríguez (5th year), Jake Arrieta (1st year), Jay Bruce (1st year), Jimmy Rollins (6th year), Joakim Soria (1st year), Jon Lester (1st year), Jordan Zimmermann (1st year), Kyle Seager (1st year), Mark Buehrle (7th year), Omar Vizquel (10th and final year), Ryan Zimmerman (1st year), Scott Kazmir (1st year), Todd Frazier (1st year), Torii Hunter (7th year), Wade Davis (1st year)
- Late January – Early February: Arbitration hearings are conducted for any players who failed to reach a salary agreement with their clubs.
- February 9-12: Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training camps in Florida (Grapefruit League) and Arizona (Cactus League); the dates vary from team to team. Full squad workouts begin a few days later.
- February 19: First official Spring Training exhibition games get underway.
March 2027: Opening Day
- March 24: Earliest traditional Opening Night in Major League history, featuring a standalone game streaming live on Netflix.
- March 25: Opening Day 2027. Fourteen regular-season games hit the schedule to officially launch the 2027 season.
This is all subject to change, since there is a really good possibility that there will be a labor stoppage. Prediction market Kalshi has priced the probability of the league and the MLBPA failing to reach a deal before the deadline at 94% to 95%. In anticipation of this, MLB has already issued a 34-page memo to team executives detailing operations and roster guidelines for the impending shutdown.
Some of the many issues in the CBA include a salary cap/floor and the current competitive balance tax, season length, playoffs, and revenue sharing among other topics; the salary cap/floor is probably the biggest, especially if the Dodgers win another World Series.
Check back over the next few weeks as we establish our free agent tracker.