Although I am loath to discuss the Dodgers winning the World Series, I must say it was a compelling contest. You really couldn't ask for better baseball. It came down to one run in extra innings—you can't get much closer than that! I liked the way the Blue Jays put the ball in play and peppered the whole field with hits. That's fun to watch. LA was able to leverage their advantage in starting pitching and home run hitting to defend their title. They made some big plays in the field, too.
Anyway, on to 2026. I'm pasting some stuff from MLBTR below. It's all the important dates and deadlines until the new season. The Giants will host the Yankees to open the year.
NOVEMBER 2: Free agency begins for eligible players,
but they aren’t permitted to sign with other teams for at least five
days. Free agents no longer count against their previous teams’ 40-man
rosters. Trades of players who were on the 40-man roster reopen for the
first time since last summer’s deadline.
NOVEMBER 2: Gold Glove winners announced.
NOVEMBER 6: Free agents are eligible to sign with
any team. All players or teams with contractual options/opt-out clauses
must make their decisions by this evening. Teams have until 4:00 pm
Central to decide whether to issue qualifying offers to eligible free
agents.
NOVEMBER 6-7: Silver Slugger winners announced. The
National League winners will be revealed on the 6th, while the American
League honorees will be awarded on the 7th.
NOVEMBER 10-13: General managers meetings in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The GM Meetings typically lay the groundwork for the
offseason rather than spurring much roster movement in themselves.
They’re nevertheless significant as an opportunity for media to speak
with high-level executives, which can shed some light on teams’ goals
for the winter.
NOVEMBER 10: Rookie of the Year award winners announced.
NOVEMBER 11: Manager of the Year award winners announced.
NOVEMBER 12: Cy Young award winners announced.
NOVEMBER 13: MVP award winners announced.
NOVEMBER 13: Reliever of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year and Hank Aaron award winners announced. All-MLB teams revealed.
NOVEMBER 18: Players have until 3:00 pm Central to
decide whether to accept the qualifying offer. If they accept, they’ll
return to their previous team on a one-year, $22.025MM contract. Players
who accept a QO, like all major league free agent signees, cannot be
traded without their consent until June 15. Those who decline the QO are
tied to draft compensation. MLBTR’s Mark Polishuk recently covered what
each team would receive for losing a qualified free agent and the penalties that teams would pay to sign a player who declined a QO.
NOVEMBER 18: Rule 5 protection deadline. Teams have
until this date to add players who would otherwise be eligible for the
Rule 5 draft to their 40-man roster to keep them out of the draft.
NOVEMBER 18-20: Quarterly owners meetings in New York. Commissioner Rob Manfred typically speaks with reporters at this time.
NOVEMBER 21: Non-tender deadline at 7:00pm Central.
Teams must decide whether to offer contracts to the arbitration-eligible
and pre-arbitration players on their 40-man roster. They do not need to
agree to salaries by this date, but there’ll be a flurry of salary
agreements as players who might otherwise be non-tender candidates often
lock in deals at slightly lesser than projected salaries to avoid being
cut loose. Players who are non-tendered immediately become free agents
without going through waivers.
DECEMBER 7-10: Winter Meetings in Orlando, Florida.
The Winter Meetings are the offseason’s busiest few days and annually
feature ample free agent and trade activity.
DECEMBER 7: Hall of Fame Contemporary Baseball Era
Players Committee announcement. Formerly known as the Veterans
Committee, the 16-person panel votes on eight candidates who were not
previously inducted into Cooperstown by the Baseball Writers Association
of America. The eight candidates under consideration are usually
announced in early November; those who receive at least 12 votes on
December 7 are elected to the Hall of Fame. This year’s committee will
consider only players whose greatest contributions came in the 1980s or
later.
DECEMBER 9: Amateur draft lottery. The White Sox have the best chance of securing the first overall pick at 27.8% (h/t to Baseball America).
The Rockies, Nationals and Angels are not allowed to pick higher than
10th. The CBA prohibits teams from having lottery picks in three
straight years, which rules out Colorado. Clubs that do not receive
revenue sharing cannot pick in the lottery in consecutive seasons,
ruling out Washington and Los Angeles.
DECEMBER 10: The Rule 5 draft will conclude the
Winter Meetings. Players selected must stay on their new teams’ active
rosters for the entire ’26 season or be offered back to their original
organization.
DECEMBER 15: Closing of the 2025 signing period for international amateurs.
JANUARY 8: Teams and arbitration-eligible players
exchange salary filing figures. They’re free to continue negotiating
beyond this date, though virtually every team treats this as an
unofficial deadline to avoid an arbitration hearing unless they sign a
multi-year contract.
JANUARY 15: Opening of the 2026 signing period for
international amateurs. The majority of the international signings for
the year will be announced on this date, as virtually all the top
prospects have reached handshake agreements by this point.
JANUARY 21: Baseball Writers’ Association of America Hall of Fame announcement at 5:00 pm Central.
EARLY FEBRUARY TBA: Arbitration hearings. Arbitrators must choose either the team’s or player’s filing figure, not a midpoint.
FEBRUARY 11: Voluntary report date to Spring Training for pitchers and catchers.
FEBRUARY 15: Voluntary report date to Spring Training for other players.
FEBRUARY 20: Mandatory report date. Spring Training play begins.
MARCH 25: Yankees @ Giants standalone game on Opening Night.
MARCH 26: Opening Day for the other 28 teams.
--M.C.
(https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/the-2025-26-offseason-begins.html)
