Report: Padres, D-backs likely to play ’26 series in Mexico City

The San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are likely to meet for a regular-season series next year in Mexico City, The Athletic reported Tuesday night.

The games would be held at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu, named for the Mexican billionaire who is a minority owner of the Padres.

San Diego and Arizona were scheduled to play Major League Baseball’s first regular-season games in Mexico City in 2020, but that slated two-game set was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mexico City finally hosted MLB action in 2023, with the Padres sweeping two games against the San Francisco Giants. The following year, the Houston Astros posted two wins over the Colorado Rockies at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu.

MLB held regular-season games in Monterrey, Mexico, in 1996, 1999 and 2018 — all involving the Padres. Two-game sets featuring the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Cincinnati Reds and the Astros vs. the Los Angeles Angels were held in Monterrey in 2019.

Other international regular-season games have been played in Tokyo, Sydney, London and Seoul, South Korea. Most recently, the Los Angeles Dodgers won two games against the Chicago Cubs last month in Tokyo.