When do pitchers and catchers report? Full list of report dates for all 30 teams

As snow and ice still blanket huge swaths of the United States, the end of winter feels like a million miles away. But don't despair: The date for pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training is set to arrive in early February, and if that's true, how far away can spring really be?

Sure, we've still got a way's to go until Opening Day in late March. But pitchers and catchers making their way to camp is the first stirring of baseball after months of hibernation, a tradition that is almost as old as the institution of spring training itself — even if no one quite knows why. (Maybe it's because pitchers need some extra time to build up their throwing programs, or maybe it's because there are just so many of them that there aren't enough mounds to give them all the reps they need during game action.)

Whatever the reason, it's become an unofficial rite of spring, the first official signpost on the long and winding road that is the 2026 MLB season. Here's when you can look forward to your team doing real, actual baseball stuff again.

When do MLB pitchers and catchers report?

Spring training is divided into the Grapefruit League, which takes place in Florida, and the Cactus League, which takes place in Arizona. Which teams go where largely comes down to geography, with teams east of the Mississippi in the former and teams west in the latter. (Though admittedly it's more art than science.)

Grapefruit League teams

The Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox will get Grapefruit League action started when their pitchers and catchers hold their first official workouts on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The rest of the Grapefruit League will follow over the next two days, with the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays bringing up the rear on Thu., Feb. 12. Of course, most of this stuff is a formality, as plenty of players make their offseason homes near their teams' spring training complexes and are spending plenty of time there before the start of workouts.

Cactus League teams

Like the Grapefruit League, the Cactus League begins on Tuesday, Feb. 10, with four teams — the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers — getting underway on that date. The one straggler here is the Los Angeles Dodgers, who don't hold their first official workout with pitchers and catchers until Friday, Feb. 13. Maybe the extra day of rest is the secret to their two straight World Series titles.

When do full-squad Spring Training workouts begin?

Not long after pitchers and catchers report, it's time for full-squad workouts to get underway. Again, plenty of non-pitchers and non-catchers spend time at the spring training facility all winter, so it's not as though this is a reunion after months apart. But it is when work begins to ramp up in earnest, in preparation for the first game action later in February.

Grapefruit League teams

The Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros take the plunge first, holding their first full workouts of the 2026 season on Sunday, Feb. 15. Most everyone else gets started a day later, with the Tampa Bay Rays bringing up the rear on Feb. 17.

Cactus League teams

The Cactus League has a handful of teams getting started on Feb. 15, with the rest following behind on Feb. 16 and Feb. 17.

How does the World Baseball Classic affect when MLB players report to Spring Training?

The one exception to this spring training schedule involves players who will be taking part in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Because the event requires them to take potentially weeks away from camp, they're required by the collective bargaining agreement to report a bit earlier than their teammates: Pitchers and catchers participating in the WBC must report no later than Wednesday, Feb. 11, while relevant position players must report no later than Thursday, Feb. 12.

When is the first Spring Training game of 2026?

Spring training wastes little time getting the actual games going. Friday, Feb. 20, marks the beginning of the Cactus and Grapefruit League schedules with five games, beginning with the Yankees at the Orioles at 1:05 p.m. ET. Don't expect to see a ton of recognizable names just yet, though: For the most part, the first games on each team's schedule are reserved for Minor Leaguers and depth pieces, while the established big-league starters get a slower ramp-up.