Dodgers enter new season as heavy World Series favourites; can any team knock them off?

MLB may be staring down the first back-to-back World Series champions since 2000 as the Los Angeles Dodgers begin their quest to repeat.

Coming off a season in which they finished a league-best 98-64 and lost only five games in the postseason, the Dodgers are heavy favourites to win the World Series again in 2025.

Other teams in the running, per FanDuel, include perennial contenders in the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, as well as some teams expected to be much improved in the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

Other teams in the running include the Baltimore Orioles (+1,600), Houston Astros (+1,800), Boston Red Sox (+1,800) and Texas Rangers (+1,900).

There are strengths and weaknesses to each contender, but which one can make the run to knock off the defending champions?

Do the Dodgers have any weaknesses?

The Dodgers are in the midst of the defining dynastic run of MLB teams in the 21st century.

They've qualified for the playoffs in 12 consecutive seasons - winning the National League West in 11 of them - and have made four World Series appearances in that stretch with two titles.

As the run continues, the headlining stars continue to change, leading to the question: Will it ever come to an end?

The Dodgers were the belle of the ball in the 2023 off-season when they signed superstar Shohei Ohtani to a 10-year deal and added Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto on a 12-year, $325million contract.

Ohtani delivered with an MVP campaign of a lifetime, achieving the first 50-50 season in MLB history (54 home runs and 59 stolen bases). He led the NL in home runs, runs batted in (130), on-base percentage (.390) and slugging percentage (.646).

Los Angeles doubled down in the off-season this year, adding another Japanese phenom pitcher in Roki Sasaki. The flame-throwing righty made his MLB debut against the Chicago Cubs on March 18, his fastball touching 100mph as he worked 3.0 innings of one-hit ball.

The Dodgers also added 2023 Cy Young winner Blake Snell, an elite bullpen arm in Kirby Yates and brought back slugger Teoscar Hernandez in the off-season. 

The team currently rosters three former MVP winners in the lineup (Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Ohtani) as well as two former Cy Young award winners (Snell, Clayton Kershaw). 

Braves try to bounce back after injury-plagued 2024 campaign

The Braves join the Yankees as second favourites to win the World Series. Atlanta is riding a seven-season streak of playoff appearances, and the team won it all in 2021.

A 104-win campaign in 2023 was met with a loss in four games in the NLDS to the Phillies, and was followed up a year ago by an 89-win season highlighted by a slew of injuries.

“We had a really nice year for what we did with the hand we were dealt,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said after the season ended. “But I had a bad day [the day after the season ended]. I expected us to go deeper than we did.”

Several key contributors missed significant time a year ago, and a little more injury luck could change the fate of the team this season.

An MVP-level campaign from designated hitter Marcell Ozuna and a Cy Young-winning season from veteran lefty Chris Sale helped the Braves make the playoffs as a wild-card team a season ago. 

The addition of OF Jurickson Profar along with the return of superstars Spencer Strider and 2023 MVP winner Ronald Acuna should vault the Braves back into the conversation for baseball's top team, even despite the loss of lefty pitcher Max Fried in free agency.

Can Yankees overcome losses of Soto, Cole to return to World Series?

The Yankees were the top team in the American League a year ago, clearing the Cleveland Guardians by two games at the top of the standings at 94-68. 

New York cruised in the playoffs, toppling the upstart Kansas City Royals 3-1 in the ALDS before crushing the Guardians 4-1 in the ALCS.

Los Angeles proved too much to handle for the Bronx Bombers in the World Series, and now their roster for the 2025 season has more questions than answers.

On the one hand, the Yankees made two big splashes in acquiring outfielder and former MVP Cody Bellinger in a trade with the Cubs, as well as star lefty pitcher Fried in free agency, formerly of the Braves.

On the other, slugger Juan Soto, who finished third in AL MVP voting last season, stayed home but changed allegiances, joining the Mets on a record-setting $765 million deal.

To add to the pain, the Yankees will be without Gerrit Cole, as their star righty - an AL Cy Young award winner in 2023 - announced earlier in March that he will miss the entire season after having Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees still have two-time MVP Aaron Judge in the lineup, coming off a historic campaign a year ago in which he led the major leagues in home runs (58), RBI (144), walks (133), on-base percentage (.458) and slugging (.701), and have a bevy of exciting young talents in the lineup, including shortstop Anthony Volpe and outfielder Jasson Dominguez.

Phillies aim to run it back after falling to Mets in NLDS

Of the top teams in the running, the Phillies experienced the least roster turnover from the 2024 season.

Outside of a switch at the back of the bullpen, moving on from Jeff Hoffman in favour of former Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano, the Phillies' roster is largely the same. 

Hoffman finished second on the team in saves a year ago (10) but experienced two meltdowns in the NLDS against the Mets, taking losses in Games 2 and 4 and finishing the series with a ghastly earned-run average of 40.50.

Philadelphia finished with the second-best record in the majors a year ago at 95-67, and with seven All-Stars returning in the lineup and on the pitching staff, there's no reason to expect a dip in performance.

Shortstop Trea Turner missed almost two months with a strained hamstring last season, and a return to form for the 32-year-old who has finished in the top 11 in MVP voting three times in his career would provide a major boost.

High-spending Cohen hopes reconstructed Mets roster can make the jump

Mets owner Steve Cohen, who purchased the team in 2020, has turned the franchise into what New York baseball fans have to come expect - out of the cross-town Yankees.

The Mets totaled $430.4 million last year in payroll and luxury tax ($97.1 million) to set a cost record. The Mets paid $420 million the year before, including a $100.8 million tax.

To add to the costs this year, Cohen set a new record with Soto's deal in December to bring the young slugger to Staten Island. The Mets also brought back first baseman Pete Alonso to form a dangerous top of the order that also includes perennial MVP candidate Francisco Lindor.

“I don’t care about the cost side,” Cohen said, adding: “If I can make millions of people happy, how cool is that? I actually [treat spending on contracts] as a civic responsibility.”

Soto, Lindor and Alonso each eclipsed 30 home runs last season, and outfielder Brandon Nimmo also has some pop hitting near the top of the lineup.

The Mets still have a weakness on the pitching side, after allowing just under eight runs per game in a six-game NLCS loss to the Dodgers. An important piece of the puzzle in the Mets rotation will be Clay Holmes, who served in a closing role for the Yankees a season ago before the Mets lured him away with a three-year deal.

Holmes held a 3.14 ERA out of the Yankees' bullpen a year ago, and a successful try out of the rotation can significantly bolster the Mets' chances at contending for a first World Series title since 1986.