Chicago Cubs fans hoping to escape the harsh Midwest winter and soak up the Arizona sunshine now can plan their schedules accordingly.

The Cubs released their 2026 Spring Training schedule on Wednesday, with their Cactus League slate beginning on Friday, Feb. 20 against the Chicago White Sox at Sloan Park.

Chicago has a critical offseason ahead in terms of building next season’s roster, following a 92-70 campaign in 2025 that saw the Cubs make their first postseason in five years before losing to the division rival Milwaukee Brewers in a five-game National League Division Series.

Star outfielder Kyle Tucker, whom Chicago acquired last winter in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros, is widely acknowledged as the top available free agent, and the Cubs are considered long shots to bring him back. Left-handed starter Shota Imanaga is a free agent as well after both he and the team declined an option to extend his contract.

One highlight of the 2026 preseason slate is a game against Team Italy on Mar. 3, a tune-up for the World Baseball Classic. The WBC will be held from Mar. 5-17 in Houston and Miami, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico and Tokyo, Japan.

Major League Baseball also announced the dates and matchups for the Third Annual Spring Breakout, where teams will send a squad of their top prospects to compete at MLB Spring Training venues. The Cubs’ prospects will host a team of San Diego Padres prospects on Saturday, Mar. 21, in a rematch of sorts from the 2025 NL Wild Card Series.

Emmanuel Lozano, Michael Chow/The Republic

Last year’s Spring Breakout games included 92 players who appeared in the Major Leagues during the 2025 season, including Cubs pitcher and NL Rookie of the Year finalist Cade Horton.

Chicago will see the two-time defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers twice in Spring Training. The Cactus League schedule concludes with two home games against the New York Yankees, who play their preseason baseball in Florida, but will be on their way out west to open the regular season in San Francisco.

With a seating capacity of 15,000, Sloan Park is the largest venue not just in the Cactus League, but among all teams’ Spring Training ballparks. The Phoenix area is home to many Chicago transplants, and the Cubs regularly host sellout preseason crowds in Mesa.

On Mar. 8, 2025, Sloan Park hosted a Spring Training-record 16,161 fans for a game between the Cubs and the Seattle Mariners. That figure was nine more than the previous record, which was also set at Sloan Park two years earlier against the San Francisco Giants.

Two days after their preseason finale, the Cubs will head back north for their regular-season opener on Thursday, Mar. 26, against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field.

February

March

The Latest Chicago Cubs News