Happy New Years, fellow baseball fans!
2025 may have just begun, but that doesn't mean it's too early to start talking about potential World Series matchups.
This offseason has seen more than a fair share of seismic moves, from Juan Soto swapping New York caps to Corbin Burnes shockingly landing with the Diamondbacks. The MLB landscape has shifted, and in this new picture is a bundle of teams capable of competing for the World Series trophy.
So, who will be crowned champion in 11 months time?
Can anyone dethrone the Dodgers?
We'll start by looking at which teams from each division should be considered "serious contenders".
In the AL East, the Yankees, as reigning AL pennant winners, deserve to be in the discussion. They lost Soto, but they've recovered nicely with the additions of Max Fried and Cody Bellinger. The Orioles lost Corbin Burnes, but they still have one of the best young cores in the game. And the Red Sox, who traded for Garrett Crochet, could be upstarts with another big addition prior to Opening Day.
Looking at the AL Central, the triumvirate of teams that made the postseason last year — the Guardians, the Royals, and the Tigers — should all be looked at as serious contenders in 2025. None of them have made any blockbuster additions just yet (the Guardians actually subtracted some talent in the Andres Gimenez trade), but each of them is counting on breakouts from their young stars.
Finally, in the AL West, there's not really anyone I'd consider to be a legitimate World Series threat. The Astros traded away Kyle Tucker and stand to lose Alex Bregman in free agency, the Mariners still haven't added meaningful reinforcements to their lineup, and the Rangers just experienced one of the worst World Series hangovers of the century. Someone has to win the division, but they won't go far in the playoffs.
Turning our attention to the senior circuit, the NL East features three obvious contenders: the Mets, the Phillies, and the Braves. The Nationals might be ready to take a leap in 2025, but playing in this gauntlet of a division won't do them any favors.
The NL Central has a similar problem to the AL West in that none of the teams residing there seem interested in separating from the pack. The Cubs are probably the best team as of New Years Day, with Kyle Tucker in tow and top prospect Matt Shaw set to take over at third base, but they still need one more big piece in the rotation (Dylan Cease? Roki Sasaki?) before they can be looked at as a true player in the postseason race.
As for the NL West, the Dodgers (of course) and the Padres are both in the discussion. The Diamondbacks (a 2023 World Series participant) probably deserve to be there after adding Burnes to their now-stacked rotation. The Giants might exist on the periphery of the discussion with Willy Adames, but losing Blake Snell to Los Angeles significantly hurts their chances.
So, in the AL, that leaves us with the Yankees, Orioles, Guardians, Royals, and Tigers as serious contenders, with the Red Sox and the AL West winner looming as potential dark horses.
In the NL, we have the Mets, Phillies, Braves, Dodgers, Padres, and Diamondbacks in the upper echelon, with the Cubs and Giants lurking just below them.
It's hard to pick against the Dodgers in the National League, and it's even harder to pick against them when considering their top opponent in the AL, the Yankees, was weakened when it lost its second-best player to the Mets.
Baseball hasn't seen a repeat winner since the Yankees in 2000-01. Even with the Soto-led Mets standing in their way, the Dodgers are inevitable. The 2025 World Series is theirs for the taking.