Top 10 Favorites To Win The 2025 World Series
This is not a promotion to go and gamble!
The major league season has ended, and the Los Angeles Dodgers have attained baseball immortality by claiming the 2024 Commissioner’s Trophy and becoming World Series Champions! Kudos to the Dodgers as they were banged up all year and still managed to will their way to a title. Now that the season is finally over, fans across the baseball universe all get to enjoy a reset and look forward to the positives of the offseason.
We have so much to look forward to in the offseason such as free agency, injuries getting rehabbed, winter meetings, stadiums being constructed/repaired, and the list keeps going. I saw that DraftKings already released their odds for the 2025 World Series winner so I had to dive in and take a look. I do not advise anyone to gamble but wanted to give my quick take on the top 10 teams by odds according to DraftKings Sportsbook as of 2:00 pm EST today.
This list starts with the Dodgers which makes sense as they won the whole thing this year while not nearly at full strength!
1. Los Angeles Dodgers +400
The Dodgers are a powerhouse and look poised for another World Series run in 2025. They return many of their star players and look forward to being much healthier next season. What can I say that everyone doesn’t already know about this team? They develop well and spend even more. This combination is deadly and they now have confidence as they have claimed a World Series trophy without an asterisk.
Positional Needs - Shortstop, Bullpen Depth (Closer)
Target Free Agents - Willy Adames, Ha-Seong Kim, Hye-Seong Kim, Jose Iglesias, Blake Treinen, Carlos Estevez, Kirby Yates
Pros - Rotation Depth, Star Power, Farm System, Management/Spending
Cons - World Series Hangover Effect
2. New York Yankees +700
As a Yankee fan, I need to be somewhat positive even though I am still hurting from the catastrophe of an exit from the 2024 playoffs. Yes, that was a miserable way to be eliminated and Judge did not impress in October (again). That being said the Yankees return firepower for 2025 including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, Luke Weaver, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Austin Wells. The Yankees also are looking to sign Juan Soto to a deal that would pay off the United States debt. If they get Soto to sign, a lot of questions are answered. If not the Yankees have a lot of money to go and spend on all of their flaws. Either way, the team will look very different compared to 2024.
Positional Needs - First Base, Second Base, Third Base, Outfield, Rotation Depth, Bullpen Depth
Target Free Agents - Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, Tanner Scott, Christian Walker, Ha-Seong Kim, Shane Bieber, Jeff Hoffman, Paul Goldschmidt, Kirby Yates
Pros - 2x Guaranteed Power Hitters, Locked-in Ace Pitcher, Luke Weaver is back
Cons - A lot of money is committed to very few players and if the Yankees sign Soto the issue is only getting worse. Plus the farm system has not provided much support in recent years.
3. Atlanta Braves +750
Atlanta is one of the best-run organizations in baseball plain and simple. They will be a real-deal contender in 2025 and I do not have any doubt they will be right there until the very end. They were dealt one too many injuries in 2024 and look to be right back in the midst of it in 2025.
Positional Needs - Pitching Depth, Util depth
Target Free Agents - Corbin Burnes, Jeff Hoffman, Jack Flaherty, Shane Bieber, Nick Pivetta, Max Kepler, Max Scherzer
Pros - The lineup is still really good
Cons - Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider both won’t be ready for Opening Day 2025
4. Philadelphia Phillies +1000
This team is not afraid to spend and already has a fantastic roster. That being said Philadelphia needs to address some of its holes this offseason. The overperformance of Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez earlier in the season last year led people to believe the rotation was strong but it became clear that they need reinforcements to the rotation and bullpen. Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez are free agents seeking big deals so the Phillies will need to get creative on how they adapt.
Positional Needs - Pitching Depth, OF, 2B, UTIL
Target Free Agents - Juan Soto, Blake Snell, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander, Gleyber Torres, Yusei Kikuchi
Pros - Return the big bats of the lineup
Cons - Top Heavy Pitching, gauntlet of a division
5. Baltimore Orioles +1100
The youth is here to stay in Baltimore! The Orioles look poised to be contenders for the next 5 years as their core is so young and so talented. The issue is their pitching. Yes, they will get Felix Bautista back as a lockdown closer in 2025 but the rotation needs to add a bunch of arms to be a serious contender.
Positional Needs - Pitching depth
Target Free Agents - Corbin Burnes (not likely), Blake Snell, Max Fried, Sean Manaea, Yusei Kikuchi, Shane Bieber, Nick Pivetta, Jeff Hoffman, Kirby Yates, Clay Holmes
Pros - This young core is going nowhere
Cons - Managements budget / unproven
6. Houston Astros +1300
Is Houston going to be able to be a serious contender in 2025? I think so. They return Altuve, Alvarez, and Tucker who are three of the best bats in the game. They will have some money to play around with Bregman leaving and still have Framber Valdez to tag along with a solid bullpen.
Positional Needs - Rotation Depth, 3B, OF, 1B
Target Free Agents - Pete Alonso, Yusei Kikuchi, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Santander, Jack Flaherty, Michael Lorenzen, Carlos Santana, Andrew Heaney
Pros - Proven core with star power
Cons - getting older and the window to compete with core is shrinking
7. New York Mets +1400
Are the Grimace Mets going to strike in free agency? There are a ton of folks who think they are going to land Juan Soto. If the Mets land Soto, they have nailed the offseason without doing anything else. The young pieces they have on the roster with Vientos and Alvarez are solid ball players and, are not going to hurt the payroll for a couple of years. Steve Cohen can afford to spend some money and I think the Mets plan to do so even if they don’t land Soto.
Positional Needs - 1B (if Alonso leaves), Rotation, Bullpen Depth, 2B, OF
Target Free Agents - Corbin Burnes, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Anthony Santander, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Flaherty, Christian Walker, Walker Buehler
Pros - Lots of returning parts and money to spend
Cons - Foggy path to signing Juan Soto and/or Alonso. Plus there are going to be a lot of suitors who try to entice Corbin Burnes to pitch for their club
8. San Diego Padres +1500
San Diego is in an interesting spot. They have great pieces to compete with Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill for 2025. The question is how long will their window remain open? They will need to regroup and possibly rebuild following the 2025 season as they might lose not 1 but 2 key arms in the rotation.
Positional Needs - Bullpen, Util, Rotation depth
Target Free Agents - Walker Buehler, Christian Walker, Kirby Yates, Tommy Kahnle, Jeff Hoffman
Pros - Lineup has a 3-headed monster with Machado, Tatis Jr. & Merrill
Cons - Several contracts to figure out between Luis Arraez, Dylan Cease, Michael King, and Tyler Wade.
9. Texas Rangers +2800
Texas has a loaded lineup when at full strength. With bats like Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Wyatt Langford, Adolis Garcia, Evan Carter, Josh Jung, Nathaniel Lowe, and Jonah Heim this team can be dangerous offensively. They have to be healthy and add arms to make another run at a World Series in 2025.
Positional Needs - Starters, Bullpen depth, veteran and/or athletic bench players
Target Free Agents - Kirby Yates, Corbin Burnes, Clay Holmes, Nick Pivetta, Tommy Kahnle, Walker Buehler
Pros - Healthy Jacob deGrom?!? | Kumar Rocker/Jack Leiter | Management is willing to spend
Cons - deGrom staying healthy is unlikely and they need to get Marcus Semien back on track
10. Seattle Mariners +2800
Seattle was easily one of the most disappointing teams in 2024. The thing that stung for Mariners fans was the “what could have been?” question. This rotation was SO good in 2024 yet they did not even make the playoff. The bats stunk in 2024 and management needs to add bats to complement Julio Rodriguez. The good news is the Mariners have money to play with and can reconfigure the roster to make a serious run in 2025.
Positional Needs - 3B, SS, 2B, 1B, OF
Target Free Agents - Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernandez, Ha-Seong Kim, Gleyber Torres, Max Kepler, Paul Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana, Joc Pederson, Tommy Pham, Kyle Higashioka, Josh Bell
Pros - maybe the best pitching rotation in baseball
Cons - Need 4-5 legitimate bats added in the offseason