MLB power rankings: Where does each team stand based on their World Series odds in 2025?
With spring training about a week away, the upcoming MLB season is starting to pose a lot of questions. Are the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers destined to never close their championship window? Is Juan Soto enough to help the New York Mets overcome the Dodgers in the National League? Can Corbin Burnes help lift the Arizona Diamondbacks over the Dodgers in the NL West? A lot of the questions have to do with defeating the Dodgers.
Despite the Dodgers going into 2025 as heavy, heavy favorites once again, a new season brings hope that every team could walk away with the Commissioner's Trophy when all is said and done. Of course, some teams are more likely to accomplish that feat than others. But there are still some hidden gems across odds boards that could earn bettors some serious cash.
Here is every team's World Series odds heading into 2025 (all odds via BetMGM):
MLB power rankings by odds:
The favorites:
1) Los Angeles Dodgers: +250
2) New York Yankees: +800
3) Atlanta Braves: +950
4) Philadelphia Phillies: +1100
5) New York Mets: +1200
6) Baltimore Orioles: +1500
7) Houston Astros: +1600
Don't be silly. It's the Dodgers. It's always been the Dodgers. It will always be the Dodgers. You might be thinking to yourself, "B-b-but the Mets got Juan Soto." Well, that didn't help the Yankees much, now did it?
It's the Dodgers. The +250 odds speaks for itself. More than three times better odds than the next closest team in baseball, and the Dodgers landed both Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell. This team certainly isn't worse than they were a year ago, and they won the World Series with relative ease, only really given trouble by their division rivals, the San Diego Padres, who always put up a good fight.
If you're going to bet on any team listed above, why not bet on the team with an implied 28.57% chance of winning the title over the flurry of teams with anywhere between a 5 and 11% chance?
The dark horses:
T-8) Boston Red Sox: +2500
T-8) San Diego Padres: +2500
T-8) Seattle Mariners: +2500
T-8) Texas Rangers: +2500
T-12) Arizona Diamondbacks: +3000
T-12) Detroit Tigers: +3000
T-12) Chicago Cubs: +3000
T-15) Cleveland Guardians: +3500
T-15) Minnesota Twins: +3500
T-17) Kansas City Royals: +4000
T-17) Milwaukee Brewers: +4000
What do the Cleveland Guardians have to do to stop getting disrespected every year? This is a team that has reached the playoffs in three of the last five seasons, is coming off a division title, boasts arguably the best bullpen in baseball, has a legitimate MVP candidate at third, and solid table-setters like Steven Kwan and David Fry. They might not be the flashiest or have the most success in the postseason as of late, but they're pretty good, and it wouldn't be shocking to see them win 90 games this year and walk away with an AL Central title again, despite having worse odds than the Tigers.
The underdogs:
19) Tampa Bay Rays: +5000
20) Toronto blue Jays: +6000
T-21) Cincinnati Reds: +8000
T-21) San Francisco Giants: +8000
23) St. Louis Cardinals: +10000
24) Pittsburgh Pirates: +12500
The San Francisco Giants are a team that doesn't appear to have any insane weaknesses. Their rotation is solid, especially if Justin Verlander can provide anything close to his 2023 form. Their bullpen has some very strong arms and bounce-back candidates. Even their lineup, while not going to blow anyone away, has solid ballplayers across the board, and the addition of Willy Adames fixed their massive hole at shortstop.
They certainly aren't going to contend with the Dodgers for an NL West title. They might not even be a top-three team in their own division, but assuming everyone can stay healthy, this could be a team that flirts with a playoff berth, and if they get there, anything can happen.
The longshots:
T-25) Athletics: +20000
T-25) Washington Nationals: +20000
27) Los Angeles Angels: +25000
T-28) Chicago White Sox: +50000
T-28) Colorado Rockies: +50000
T-28) Miami Marlins: +50000
The Washington Nationals are not a great team just yet, but they are due for a breakout at some point with the amount of young talent they have. Whether it's James Wood, Jacob Young, CJ Abrams or Dylan Crews, this team has too many talented position players to match their mediocre offensive season from a year ago.
While the rotation and bullpen could certainly use some work, there is enough to like about this team to warrant a little more optimism than the other teams they are grouped with.
When does the MLB season start?
While spring training begins Thursday, Feb. 20 with a matchup between the Dodgers and Cubs, the first pitch of the regular season will be on March 18 when the Dodgers and Cubs play a two-game series in Japan.
March 27 will be opening day for 26 other teams, with only the Tampa Bay Rays and Colorado Rockies not participating in games that day. Their opening day contest was pushed back from March 27 to March 28 in order to give the Rays more time to prepare George M. Steinbrenner Field as their home park in 2025 after Hurricane Milton devastated Tropicana Field last October.