The long awaited schedule for the 2026 MLB season — possibly our last before the next labor dispute and lockout — has been released.
As has been long expected, the schedule begins with an extended road trip to allow more time for the finalization of Tropicana Field, which the city of St. Petersburg has committed to make playable for next season. Whether the stadium will be ready for fans come Opening Day is not clear.
The home opener will feature the Chicago Cubs, a team accustomed to playing in a dilapidated MLB park that has long run its course, after a cold weather tour of Missouri, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The first weekend series will feature the New York Yankees, the only AL East matchup in March or April.
The team’s annual West Coast tour is scheduled for August 3-12, although a quick trip to LA is scheduled for the the Angels and Dodgers back to back in June, as well as a perplexing week in September that has the team home on the 2nd, in Texas from the 3rd-5th, in Sacramento from the 8th-10th, and then back in St. Pete on the 11th. All of that airtime is sure to be unkind should the team be positioned to make a playoff push.
