Tigers Will Have Exciting Opportunity to Play International Exhibition in 2026

The Detroit Tigers will spend some of their spring in Santo Domingo taking on a national team in exhibition games ahead of 2026 spring training.

Mar 3, 2000; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Fans of the Dominican Republic wave the national flag during the Caribbean World Series. The Caribbean World Series, a round robin elimination series with Puerto Rico winning the championship, was played at the Estadio Quisqueya (Quisqueya stadium) in the capital of Santo Domingo. | Providence Journal-USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Tigers have plenty of work to do this winter to not only keep their core roster together but also manage to accrue some improvements so they can continue to compete in 2026

After back-to-back postseason exits, they are likely looking to make some additions to the roster over the course of the offseason, and with the winter meetings starting up, they have the option to do so now.

In addition to this, they will have the opportunity to get a look at some of their top prospects this spring training, with multiple of their best names nearing a promotion for their MLB debut. This spring will be a little bit different from previous ones for the Tigers, however, as they will have two exhibition games set up abroad against a national team.

With the World Baseball Classic taking place once again in 2026, this will give Detroit the opportunity to play against a national squad, giving them an early chance to hone their roster and see what things may need to be changed early in the process. This will happen pretty much right in the middle of their spring schedule, which will make for an interesting scheduling process for the team.

What Are the Latest Details on the Tigers' Spring Exhibition Games?

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MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced recently that Detroit will be taking on the Dominican Republic national team on March 3 and 4 during their spring training schedule. These games will take place in Santo Domingo, as both sides prepare for their respective competitions. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic also reported that the matchups will benefit victims and families of the JetSet nightclub roof collapse.

MLB announced the Tigers will play two exhibition games against the Dominican national team March 3 and 4 in Santo Domingo.

The games will benefit victims and families of the JetSet nightclub roof collapse.

— Cody Stavenhagen (@CodyStavenhagen) December 8, 2025

Previously, the Tigers had been scheduled for an exhibition match against Panama on March 4, so it will be intriguing to see how that plays out, whether it be a split-squad or otherwise. Regardless, this is a great opportunity for Detroit to test its current roster and some prospects against some of the best players in the world.

With multiple top prospects looking to earn some MLB reps this upcoming season, and lots of roster spots left to figure out ahead of the regular season, it should benefit the Tigers to put more tape together on each of these players to really see what they can do, especially against such exceptional talent.

While it will be difficult to travel so far in the middle of the spring schedule, they will have ample time to recover, if necessary, prior to their first game on March 26.