The calendar has turned to February, meaning … baseball is back!
Spring training is finally here (though big-name free agent Alex Bregman remains unsigned), and MLB teams will start reporting to their camps in Arizona and Florida as soon as Sunday, with the Chicago Cubs‘ pitchers and catchers the first and the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ pitchers and catchers soon after.
The two will face off in the first spring training matchup, a Cactus League showdown Feb. 20. The Grapefruit League season will open the following day when the New York Yankees host the Tampa Bay Rays, and then all 30 MLB clubs will play on Feb. 22. Spring breakout games will also return in 2025, with teams putting their best prospects on the field to play in exhibitions games from March 13-16.
Then, on March 18 and 19, the Cubs and Dodgers will play a highly anticipated two-game series in Tokyo that will kick off the 2025 regular season. The star-studded showdown will feature five Japanese stars, three of whom — Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shota Imanaga — last played together at the Tokyo Dome for Samurai Japan in early-round games of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Ohtani and Yamamoto are joined by Roki Sasaki — who rocked the baseball world when he chose to sign with the Dodgers in January — for Los Angeles, while Chicago has Imanaga and Seiya Suzuki (who missed the WBC due to injury).
This year’s Opening Day — Thursday, March 27 — will showcase 28 clubs playing in 14 games, including five interleague series and four division matchups. (The Rays — who will be playing the 2025 season at the Yankees’ spring training field in Tampa after their home, Tropicana Field, was damaged in a hurricane — and the Colorado Rockies will play their first game the following day.)
We have everything you need to know to catch up on your team’s offseason and be ready for Opening Day as spring training begins.
Latest MLB news and analysis
Power Rankings: Where every team stands in the new year
Kiley McDaniel’s 2025 prospect rankings: Top 100 | 101-200 | System rankings | Team top 10s | Predictions
2024-25 mid-offseason grades for all 30 teams
Key dates to know
Feb. 9: Cubs’ pitchers/catchers report to camp
Feb. 11: Dodgers’ and Rays’ pitchers/catchers report to camp
Feb. 12-13: All other teams’ pitchers/catchers report
Feb. 14: Cubs’ first full-squad workouts
Feb. 15: Dodgers’ first full-squad workouts
Feb. 16-18: All other teams’ first full-squad workouts
Feb. 20: First spring training games
March 13: Spring breakout games begin
March 18-19: Tokyo Series
March 27: Opening Day
