MLB Rumors: Dodgers, Cubs 'Privately Informed' They'll Open 2025 MLB Season in Japan

MLB is reportedly tabbing a pair of National League teams to open the 2025 season across the Pacific.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, "The Chicago Cubs and [Los Angeles] Dodgers have been privately informed they have been selected to open the 2025 season in Tokyo."

Nightengale added that since the Cubs have spring training in Arizona, they would return to Arizona after their opening series against the Dodgers and "open their domestic season on the West Coast before heading home to Chicago."

Per James Neveau of NBC Sports Chicago, the Cubs previously opened the 2000 season at the Tokyo Dome in Japan with a two-game series against the New York Mets. Chicago also played abroad during the 2023 campaign, splitting a two-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals in London.

The Dodgers are coming off their two-game series against the San Diego Padres in Seoul, South Korea, that opened the 2024 campaign. The two teams split the series, with Los Angeles winning 5-2 in Game 1 and San Diego taking a 15-11 victory in the finale.

While the games had early-morning start times in the United States, they reportedly were massive draws overseas:

A series in Tokyo between the Dodgers and Cubs would be a homecoming for some of the biggest Japanese stars in MLB. The Dodgers signed two-time AL MVP Shohei Ohtani and coveted pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto this winter in an acclaimed offseason haul. The Cubs added pitcher Shota Imanaga this offseason and landed outfielder Seiya Suzuki in 2022.

Fans in Japan will be pumped to welcome these star players home when the Cubs and Dodgers open the 2025 season.