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The 2026 MLB season is complete and the Brewers are World Series champions. They defeated the Rays to clinch the first title in franchise history. We were assured a first-time champion this season and the Brewers won it. The Rays will try again for their first title next year. With the World Series now complete, the 2026-27 offseason has officially begun, and several significant events are right around the corner.
Of course, this all comes with a disclaimer. When the current collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, the owners are expected to lock out the players until a new deal is reached. That could take days, weeks, months, who knows? It may affect spring training and even the 2027 regular season, or they may find labor peace before the spring. Regardless, the likely lockout will all but certainly affect some of the calendar. MLB free agency will still begin in early November, but transactions will all come to a halt the minute there is a lockout.
MLB Lockout 101: Everything to know about baseball's likely upcoming work stoppage
Dayn Perry
Here now are the important dates and deadlines for the coming weeks and months.
As of 9 a.m. ET, eligible players (i.e. those with at least six years of service time) are free agents. Free agents cannot sign with a new team just yet. They have to wait five days for that. The first five days of the offseason are an exclusive negotiating period during which free agents can only talk money with their most recent team. Very few players re-sign during the exclusive negotiating period. Edwin Díaz returning to the Mets four years ago is by far the most notable in recent memory. Once players get this close to free agency, they typically test the market. Also, trades involving 40-man roster players resume on this day for the first time since the summer's trade deadline.
This year's Gold Glove winners will be announced during an ESPN broadcast at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Cubs and Blue Jays lead the way with five Gold Glove finalists each. In addition to the nine individual positions in each league, there is also a utility Gold Glove and a team Gold Glove.
Most contract option decisions are due on this date. Some contracts specify a different date (the Yankees had to make a decision on Zack Britton's 2022 club option in November 2020, for example), but the vast majority have to be made within five days of the end of the World Series. Club options are controlled by the team, player options and opt-outs are controlled by the player, and mutual options are kind of pointless. They're a way to shift money to the next year's payroll more than anything.
Some option decisions are no-brainers, like the Braves picking up their $17 million club option on Ronald Acuña Jr. or Luis Severino picking up his $22 million player option with the Athletics. This offseason's notable contract option decisions include Michael King (can opt out of two years and $58 million with Padres), Bo Bichette (can opt out of two years and $84 million with Mets), and Luis Robert Jr. (Orioles hold $20 million club option).
The qualifying offer is a one-year contract worth the average of the top 125 salaries, or $23.15 million this offseason, according to the New York Post. To be eligible for the qualifying offer, a free agent must have spent the entire 2026 season with one team and have never received the QO previously. The Mariners can make Randy Arozarena the QO, but the Dodgers cannot do the same with Tarik Skubal because he was traded during the season.
The five-day exclusive negotiating period ends and free agents are truly free. They can negotiate and sign with any team as of 5 p.m. ET on this date. That said, much like the regular season, MLB's free agency is a marathon, not a sprint. We (probably) won't see a rush of signings on Day 1 because MLB is not a salary-capped league (not yet, anyway), and free agents aren't worried about getting left out in the cold when cap space runs out.
Rookies of the Year on Monday, Managers of the Year on Tuesday, Cy Youngs on Wednesday, and MVPs on Thursday. The awards will be announced during an MLB Network broadcast at 7 p.m. ET each day. Awards finalists will be announced Nov. 2. The All-MLB Team, Comeback Players of the Year, and Relievers of the Year will also be announced on Nov. 11.
Generally speaking, the GM Meetings are used to handle off-the-field matters like rule changes, but when you put all 30 GMs in one place, deals inevitably get discussed and sometimes completed. The Angels signed Travis d'Arnaud and the Braves traded Nick Allen to the Astros at last year's GM Meetings, for example. Also, the groundwork is often laid this week for deals that are completed at a later date.
If Silver Sluggers are your thing, this is the date for you. Four years ago, a utility player Silver Slugger was added, then three years ago, MLB and Louisville debuted a team Silver Slugger. Finalists will be announced Nov. 2.
The deadline for free agents to accept or reject the QO is 4 p.m. ET. Players who accept the QO sign that one-year, $23.15 million contract and remain with their team (and cannot be traded until June 15 without their consent). Free agents who reject the QO are attached to draft pick compensation. Their former team receives a draft pick if they sign elsewhere, and their new team has to forfeit a draft pick(s) and, in some cases, international bonus money. Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki are among the free agents who will surely reject the QO and sign more lucrative contracts this offseason.
That is a fancy way of saying this is the deadline for teams to add eligible minor leaguers to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Generally speaking, college players drafted no later than 2023 and high school players drafted no later than 2022 are Rule 5 Draft eligible this winter, as are players signed internationally no later than 2022. Among the notable Rule 5 Draft-eligible prospects this offseason are Dodgers righty Christian Zazueta and Nationals righty Travis Sykora. Those two and many others will be added to the 40-man roster on this date. The deadline is 6 p.m. ET, specifically.
It should be noted that there are usually several minor trades in the days leading up to the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline as teams get their 40-man roster in order. Four years ago, the Rays traded Xavier Edwards to the Marlins in the 40-man roster management move at the Rule 5 Draft protection deadline.
The now triannual owners meetings cover big-picture business matters and are rarely a source of hot stove news or rumors. Three years ago, the owners voted on and approved the Athletics' proposed relocation to Las Vegas at their November meetings. With the collective bargaining agreement set to expire on Dec. 1 and talks with the MLB Players Association ongoing, the owners will likely use this week as one last strategy session.
This is the deadline for teams to offer contracts to their pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible players for 2027. Contracts do not have to be signed yet. An offer just has to be extended. Players who do not receive a contract offer before the deadline are considered "non-tendered" and immediately become free agents. Notable players are non-tendered every offseason as teams determine that their salary outweighs their performance and the trade market turns up nothing worthwhile. Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe were among the players non-tendered last offseason.
Specifically, the CBA expires at 11:59 p.m. ET, and it is very likely the owners will lock out the players at that time. It is possible MLB and the MLBPA will agree to a new CBA before this date, sure, but it would be a major surprise. All major league transactions get put on hold during the lockout. There will be no trades or free agent signings involving 40-man roster players, or even any negotiations. Here is our timeline of CBA talks and proposals. Because a potential lockout would bring so much uncertainty, any events and deadlines listed after this date are subject to change. We'll put asterisks as a reminder.
These are the extra draft picks given each year to teams that fall in the bottom 10 in revenue and/or market size. There is overlap between the two groups, so there are typically 14-15 competitive balance picks awarded each year, not 20. Competitive balance picks are MLB's only tradeable draft picks. Last offseason, picks were included in the Shane Baz, Brendan Donovan, and Caleb Durbin/Kyle Harrison trades. Five years ago, the assignment of competitive balance picks was pushed back until after the lockout.
Voting results for the Hall of Fame's Classic Baseball Committee for Managers, Executives, and Umpires will be announced during an MLB Network broadcast. The Hall of Fame has restructured its veteran committee three times in the last 14 years, and this year's Classic Baseball Committee will consider "candidates whose primary contribution to the game came prior to 1980." The 16-person committee will consider eight candidates on the ballot. This has nothing to do with the CBA and the announcement will take place as scheduled.
This is typically when all hot stove hell breaks loose. The Winter Meetings are the busiest period of the offseason and feature plenty of trades, free agent signings, and rumors. It is three-plus days of nonstop hot stove action. Historically, the biggest moves of the offseason are completed at the Winter Meetings. GMs can talk face-to-face with agents and other GMs to get things done. Last year, Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz, and Kyle Schwarber signed during the Winter Meetings while Jose A. Ferrer and Harry Ford were among those traded. The Winter Meetings were canceled during the last lockout. It seems likely they would be canceled again during a potential lockout this offseason.
In an effort to curb tanking, MLB and the MLBPA agreed to a lottery to determine the top six picks of the annual amateur draft as part of the current CBA. The 18 non-playoff teams each have a shot at the No. 1 pick, though the worst teams have the highest odds. Here are this year's odds for the No. 1 selection in the 2027 Draft (via Baseball America):
| Team | No. 1 pick odds | Team | No. 1 pick odds |
|---|---|---|---|
19.1% |
1.6% |
||
Angels |
19.1% |
1.3% |
|
Athletics |
19.1% |
1.0% |
|
11.6% |
Orioles |
0.9% |
|
Mets |
8.7% |
Marlins |
0.7% |
6.4% |
0.6% |
||
4.5% |
0.2% |
||
Mariners |
3.1% |
Not eligible |
|
Nationals |
2.1% |
Not eligible |
Teams that pay into revenue sharing cannot pick in the lottery in back-to-back years, so the Giants (No. 4 pick in 2026) are not eligible for the lottery this year. The Pirates, meanwhile, cannot get a lottery pick this year because teams that receive revenue sharing can not pick in the lottery in three consecutive years. They had the No. 6 pick in 2025 and the No. 5 pick in 2026. The Giants and Pirates cannot pick higher than No. 10 overall in 2027.
The lottery determines the top six draft picks. Picks 7-18 are the remaining non-playoff teams in reverse order of the standings. Picks 19-30 are the 12 postseason teams ordered by their finish, with the Wild Card Series losers coming first and the World Series winner picking last. The draft lottery was not yet a thing during the last lockout. It's unclear how MLB would handle it during a potential lockout this offseason.
By rule, players selected in the Rule 5 Draft must remain on their new team's MLB roster all season in 2027; otherwise, they must go through waivers and be offered back to their original team. Teams don't often find difference-makers in the Rule 5 Draft. They usually look for middle relievers, platoon bats, and lottery tickets. Most Rule 5 Draft picks don't stick and wind up back with their original team. Last offseason's notable Rule 5 Draft selection was Blue Jays righty Spencer Miles, who gave them 95 ⅔ innings with a 2.63 ERA. The Rule 5 Draft was canceled and not held during the last lockout. There is a minor-league phase that still took place, however, because that phase does not involve 40-man roster players.
This is the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to submit salary figures for 2027. The player files what he believes he should be paid while the team files what it believes the player should be paid. This date is only the filing deadline, and the two sides can still agree to a contract of any size even after filing salary figures. The vast majority of arbitration-eligible players agree to a contract before the filing deadline and avoid this headache. MLB Trade Rumors released their 2027 salary arbitration projections a few weeks ago. The entire arbitration process (submit filing figures, hearings, etc.) was pushed back until after the lockout five years ago.
The 2027 international amateur signing period opens at 9 a.m. ET. The annual signing period used to run from July 2 to June 25, though MLB and the MLBPA agreed to push the start of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 signing periods back to the following January because of the pandemic, and now the January start is permanent and the signing period is neatly confined to a single calendar year. These are non-40-man roster players and the international signing period opened as scheduled during the last lockout.
The 2027 Hall of Fame class will be announced during a live MLB Network broadcast. The Hall of Fame ballot will be revealed on Nov. 16, votes are compiled over the following weeks, then the results are announced in January. Newcomers to this year's ballot include Jon Lester and Buster Posey. This is Omar Vizquel's tenth and final year of eligibility. This is also Year 6 on the ballot for Alex Rodriguez and Year 4 for Chase Utley. Among holdovers, Utley was closest to getting in without actually getting in last year. He received 59.1% of the vote, well short of the 75% needed for induction, but he's made huge gains in his three years on the ballot and is trending toward induction.
Inevitably, a few arbitration-eligible players and their teams will be unable to come to terms on a contract, and wind up in front of an arbitration panel. Each side states their case -- hearings can be contentious because the team will outline the player's shortcomings and explain why he deserves a lower salary than he believes -- and the three-person panel picks either the salary the player filed or the salary the team filed on Jan. 8. Nothing in between. Again, teams and players can work out a contract of any size prior to a hearing, even after filing salary figures. Skubal and Kyle Bradish were among the players to go to an arbitration hearing before the 2026 season. Hearings were pushed back until after the lockout five years ago, and in some cases they took place during the season.
Spring training camps open across Arizona and Florida in the middle of February. Each team sets its own reporting dates for pitchers and catchers and then position players, though they'll all be up and running by the second full week of February. All 30 teams are scheduled to play their first exhibition game on Feb. 19. If the lockout extends into February, the start of spring training will be delayed. During the lockout five years ago, MLB announced spring delays one week at a time, piece by piece.
March 24 is the exclusive Opening Night game on Netflix (teams TBA). The other 28 teams will begin their seasons one day later. There's Rivalry Weekend, a special series in Las Vegas and more. Of course, if the lockout extends in March, Opening Day and other games will be pushed back. Five years ago, the regular season started a week late and teams picked up the existing schedule. A new schedule was not drawn up. Missed games were made up with doubleheaders and on mutual off-days throughout the year, with a few extra days tacked on to the end of the season as well.
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