Spring's around corner as Tribe reveals Cactus slate

CLEVELAND -- The temperature is dropping, the first snowflakes have fallen and holiday lights are beginning to adorn houses all around the Cleveland area. It is as good a time as any to begin thinking warm thoughts of baseball and Spring Training.

On Tuesday, the Indians unveiled their spring schedule, allowing fans to officially begin a countdown to the 2016 season. There are only 85 days until pitchers and catchers report to Cleveland's complex in Goodyear, Ariz., where sunsplashed diamonds will be filled with players prepping for the next campaign Feb. 17.

The Tribe's full squad will be required to report by Feb. 21, and the Indians will play their first game of 2016 on March 1 against the Reds at Goodyear Ballpark. As has become a spring tradition for the Ohio teams -- Cleveland and Cincinnati have neighboring facilities and a shared ballpark -- the Indians and Reds will play three games in a row (March 1-3) at the outset of the Cactus League slate.

Single-game Spring Training tickets will be available exclusively on indians.com/spring, beginning at noon ET on Dec. 12. Information about season tickets, a variety of ticket packages and travel offers, as well as promotional dates this spring, can also be found at indians.com.

In all, the Indians will play 19 games (16 home games and three as the visitors against the Reds) at Goodyear Ballpark. Cleveland will host the World Series champion Royals on March 23 and will play three night games at home. Those dates include March 19 against the Cubs, March 24 against the Dodgers and March 29 against a split-squad Mariners team.

Before heading back to Cleveland for Opening Day against the Red Sox on April 4 at Progressive Field, the Indians will travel to Texas. The Tribe is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games against the Rangers on April 1-2 at Globe Life Park in Arlington. In all likelihood, the Indians will have made their final roster decisions before that brief trip to the Lone Star State.