MLB Schedule 2016: League Announces Full Regular-Season Slate

While most fans are focused firmly on the playoff races in the American and National Leagues, MLB is already turning its gaze to the 2016 regular season. The league revealed the full schedules for all 30 teams Tuesday afternoon.  

Hardball Talk's Craig Calcaterra was pleased with the understated style by which MLB decided to drop the entire baseball calendar for next year:

Especially for those fanbases whose teams are already well out of the postseason hunt, it's never too early to start looking ahead. The possibilities are endless, and almost any franchise can go from an also-ran to a contender in the space of an offseason.

Below, you can view the 13 Opening Day matchups that will kick off the campaign:

Time (ET)	Away	Home
TBD	Boston Red Sox	Cleveland Indians
TBD	Houston Astros	New York Yankees
TBD	Los Angeles Dodgers	San Diego Padres
TBD	Minnesota Twins	Baltimore Orioles
TBD	New York Mets	Kansas City Royals
TBD	Philadelphia Phillies	Cincinnati Reds
TBD	Seattle Mariners	Texas Rangers
TBD	St. Louis Cardinals	Pittsburgh Pirates
TBD	Toronto Blue Jays	Tampa Bay Rays
TBD	Washington Nationals	Atlanta Braves
2:10 p.m.	San Francisco Giants	Milwaukee Brewers
9:40 p.m.	Colorado Rockies	Arizona Diamondbacks
10:05 p.m.	Chicago White Sox	Oakland Athletics

At this point, no Opening Day series looks more appealing than the New York Mets on the road against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals have the best record in the AL, while the Mets have the pitching necessary to make a deep playoff run in October.

Hardball Talk's D.J. Short is already raising the stakes for what will be a fun pair of games:

Baseball fans hoping to see history on Opening Day should look no further than the Cleveland Indians vs. the Boston Red Sox, per Jon Shestakofsky, the Sox's manager of media relations and baseball information:

Both teams have been big disappointments in 2015 and will look to rebound with strong starts in 2016.

For the Indians, it will also be their first season since 2001 without Mark Shapiro occupying a significant role in the front office. Shapiro will join the Toronto Blue Jays at the start of the 2016 season, meaning the pressure is on even more for general manager Chris Antonetti to find the offensive help that makes Cleveland a playoff threat.

Another fun Opening Day series will be the Atlanta Braves hosting the Washington Nationals.

The Nats were strong favorites to win the World Series, but it's becoming increasingly likely they'll miss the playoffs altogether in 2015. That kind of underwhelming performance could cause a shakeup in a number of different areas in the offseason.

At least Washington should get its regular season off to a great start in 2016, per MLB.com's Andrew Simon:

For the rebuilding Braves, taking two out of three from the Nationals or managing to sweep them altogether would give fans in Atlanta a small reason for optimism next year.

In addition to the three series mentioned, Opening Day also features intriguing contests between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros.

The MLB regular season may be an arduous slog at times, but Opening Day 2016 should provide a great jumping-off point for the months ahead.