MLB Projected

The 2026 season is over: the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays in five games in the World Series (October 23 to 28) and won their first championship, according to Wikipedia.

The 2027 season is on the calendar but not guaranteed. MLB released the 2027 schedule on July 16, 2026. It starts with an Opening Night game on March 24 and the full Opening Day slate on March 25, the earliest start the league has ever scheduled. Each team is set to play 162 games, ending September 26. The All-Star Game is July 13 at Wrigley Field.

The catch: the collective bargaining agreement with the players' union expires on December 1, 2026. Owners are expected to lock out the players if no new deal is reached. Wikipedia reports the owners proposed a salary cap in May 2026, which the union opposes, and in October proposed a shorter 154-game season by 2029 and changes to the playoff format. If a lockout runs into late winter, the league could delay or shorten the season.

Note. Every 2027 date on this page is "projected": they are the league's scheduled dates, which a lockout could move. We will update this page after December 1.

The league has set milestone dates: the All-Star Game (July 13), the second half (July 15), the Field of Dreams game (August 12, Royals host Red Sox), the Little League Classic (August 19, Blue Jays host Cubs), the last day (September 26), and a World Series that runs October 22 to a possible Game 7 on October 30. There are no international games on the 2027 schedule because of the lockout risk. We do not list a trade-deadline date because no source we can use gives one.

National TV is spread across six companies in two sets of deals: three-year deals with ESPN, NBC Sports and Netflix (2027 is year two) and seven-year deals with FOX, TBS and Apple TV (2027 is year six).

• Sunday night: NBC and Peacock. In October, NBC says its Yankees-Red Sox Wild Card Game 1 was the most-watched Game 1 of a Wild Card or Division Series since 2006.
• Friday: Apple TV.
• Saturday night: FOX (regional) and FS1.
• Tuesday: TBS.
• Summer specials: ESPN (up to 30 games), including Memorial Day, the second-half opener and the Little League Classic.
• Special events: Netflix has Opening Night and the Home Run Derby; FOX has the All-Star Game.
• Out of market: MLB.TV (new subscribers sign up in the ESPN app).

Local broadcasts remain team by team. National games are usually blacked out in the home markets of the teams playing; check each service.

Twelve teams qualify, six per league: the three division winners and three wild cards.

1. Seeding: the division winners are seeds 1 to 3; the wild cards are seeds 4 to 6. Seeds 1 and 2 get a bye.
2. Wild Card Series: best-of-three, 3 hosts 6 and 4 hosts 5.
3. Division Series: best-of-five. Seed 1 plays the winner of 4 versus 5; seed 2 plays the winner of 3 versus 6. There is no reseeding.
4. League Championship Series: best-of-seven.
5. World Series: best-of-seven between the two league champions.

TV for 2027 (scheduled): NBC and NBCSN have all four Wild Card Series. TBS and truTV (TNT Sports) have the National League Division Series and Championship Series. FOX and FS1 have the American League Division Series and Championship Series, and the World Series.

The owners' October proposals would make the Division Series best-of-seven and let the higher seed pick its opponent in the first two rounds. Those are proposals only, and nothing has changed.