MLB announces 2027 schedule with earliest Opening Day ever, but labor battle looms

Opening Day is slated to arrive earlier than ever in 2027 — so long as baseball isn’t in the midst of an ugly labor battle.

The first regular-season game of next year, dubbed Opening Night, is scheduled for March 24 with the matchup to be determined, Major League Baseball announced Thursday. That’s a day earlier than this year’s campaign began with a matchup between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants.

The fuller, more traditional Opening Day is set for March 25, with 14 games. The All-Star Game is set for Tuesday, July 13 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the final day of the regular season is scheduled for Sept. 26, a Sunday.

The planned calendar for next year would not mark the earliest point at which an official MLB game was played in a given season. Games have been played on earlier dates when teams have opened the season internationally, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs did in Japan in 2025. Still, traditional Opening Day — with a full slate of games — has never arrived sooner than it is set to in 2027. Previously, the earliest Opening Day was on March 26, which happened this year.

It’s all tentative for now, though, as the ongoing labor negotiation between players and owners could put a wrench in these plans. The season’s ultimate start date, and whether a full 162-game campaign will be played, is up in the air.

The collective bargaining agreement expires in December, and MLB and the players’ union will need to work out a new deal. That process, which is already underway, has the potential to lead to canceled games in 2027 or, at least, a revised calendar.

In response to an inquiry from The Athletic on Thursday, MLB said it chose to move up Opening Day because of fan desire to complete the postseason by October. Game 7 of this year’s World Series, if needed, is set for Oct. 31.

Still, a little extra runway into next year’s season also has a chance to serve a different purpose, particularly if history repeats itself.

When the current CBA expires, the owners are expected to lock out the players. The last time the sides negotiated a labor contract, February concluded without a deal. On March 1, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced the cancellation of early-season games, including Opening Day, which was set for March 31.

Once the sides reached a deal on March 10, a revised 162-game schedule was agreed to. The season began on April 7 instead.

MLB and the union could again see their negotiation last into March and ultimately arrive at a revised schedule that preserves a full 162 games per club. There’s also a chance that this round of talks — which centers on the owners’ desire for a salary cap, a particularly contentious issue — could last beyond Opening Day to the point that some games are lost.

Netflix is set to televise the very first regular-season game on Opening Night in 2027, just as it did this season.