Now that the 2025 World Series matchup has been set, it’s time to dig into the two opponents.
The National League-champion Los Angeles Dodgers are the betting favorite to repeat as champions after winning the 2024 Fall Classic, sitting at -220 odds, per BetMGM. Meanwhile, the American League-champion Toronto Blue Jays sit at +180 odds, a clear underdog in this series.
However, Toronto finished the regular season with 94 wins, better than Los Angeles’ 93 wins, despite expectations that the latter would cruise to 100-plus victories in 2025.
With all that said, let’s break down the three key positional groups for both World Series teams.
Starting pitching
The Dodgers have an elite starting rotation, led by lefty Blake Snell and his microscopic 0.86 postseason ERA. Following Snell are rightys Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani (who also DHs, by the way) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This staff is a complete 180 from last year’s squad, which relied on a stellar bullpen.
Meanwhile, the Blue Jays have solid starters of their own, especially ace Kevin Gausman, as well as veteran Shane Bieber and rookie Trey Yesavage. But let’s face it: Toronto’s starting pitching is no match for Los Angeles’.
Advantage: Dodgers
Lineups
Offense hasn’t been an issue for either team, with the Dodgers boasting a deep lineup led by many of last year’s champions like Ohtani, shortstop Mookie Betts, first baseman Freddie Freeman, right fielder Teoscar Hernandez, third baseman Max Muncy and catcher Will Smith, among others.
One could argue Toronto has the best pure hitter in this series in first baseman (and ALCS MVP) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., while outfielder George Springer is as clutch as they come. Importantly, shortstop Bo Bichette is also poised to return for the World Series, which only lengthens this Blue Jays lineup more.
We’ll give the nod to the Dodgers here on experience alone, but it’s very close, with plenty of star power to go around.
Advantage: Dodgers, slightly
Bullpen
This is where it gets interesting. The Dodgers’ bullpen has been notoriously bad this postseason, save for the emergence of righty Roki Sasaki as a dominant closer. In fact, Los Angeles has resorted to piggy-backing starters with other starters in multiple playoff games this October, speaking to their relief struggles.
It’s not like the Blue Jays have a vastly superior bullpen, though. They’ve got some decent arms like righties Louis Varland, Seranthony Dominguez and Jeff Hoffman, but none of those names would be mistaken for a prime Mariano Rivera.
Ultimately, quantity triumphs over quality here, and Los Angeles simply doesn’t have enough bullpen manpower to top Toronto’s collection of relief arms should a game or two come down to that.
Advantage: Blue Jays
Overall, the Dodgers and Blue Jays appear to be more evenly matched than people might expect. Both clubs will run out a formidable lineup nightly. However, Los Angeles’ starting pitching has a clear edge in this series, despite the Toronto’s bullpen being slightly better.
Prediction: Dodgers in five
