The Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs kick off the 2025 MLB season Tuesday with a two-game series in Japan.
While the traditional Opening Day is still more than a week away, now is the time to put your money where your mouth is. If you think you know who is going to win the World Series this year, there isn’t a better time to make a wager.
For those of you unsure who to pick, though, we’ve got you covered. No one knows who to bet on quite like the oddsmakers in Las Vegas. Their entire job is to make sure the house wins, so going with their trends can sometimes be a better strategy than going with your gut.
Here’s a ranking of every MLB team based on their 2025 World Series odds:
2025 World Series odds
All odds via BetMGM.
The favorites
1. Los Angeles Dodgers (+240)
2. Atlanta Braves (+900)
3. New York Yankees (+900)
4. Philadelphia Phillies (+1100)
5. New York Mets (+1200)
You can’t go wrong with any of these teams, but for your money, the Dodgers probably aren’t worth it at their current odds. Given everything that can go wrong in a playoff series, taking them when their odds are nearly four times better than the next-closest team probably isn’t a winning move.
However, there is an obvious choice among these top-five teams. See, four of them play in the National League. Those four teams will be beating each other up all season long, and it’s anyone’s guess who could come out on top. But the New York Yankees are the only American League representative with odds this good. They’re the clear favorites to come out of the AL. They may not be as talented as a team like the Dodgers, but anything can happen in a seven-game series.
The dark horses
6. Baltimore Orioles (+1600)
7. Boston Red Sox (+1800)
8. Houston Astros (+1800)
9. Seattle Mariners (+2500)
10. Texas Rangers (+2500)
11. Arizona Diamondbacks (+3000)
12. Chicago Cubs (+3000)
13. Detroit Tigers (+3000)
14. San Diego Padres (+3000)
The Chicago Cubs are a team running on potential right now. The addition of Kyle Tucker fills the void left by Cody Bellinger. In fact, it’s an upgrade in the outfield. Now, if other players like Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson can all improve as well, the Cubs will have a decent shot to come out on top in a weak NL Central. In fact, the reigning NL Central champs, the Milwaukee Brewers, just lost arguably the best reliever in baseball, while the Cubs added a solid closer option in Ryan Pressly this offseason.
Given the stout competition in the other divisions represented in this tier, the Cubs could be the best bet if you’re looking for a dark horse World Series champ.
The underdogs
15. Cleveland Guardians (+3500)
16. Minnesota Twins (+3500)
17. Kansas City Royals (+4000)
18. Milwaukee Brewers (+4000)
19. Tampa Bay Rays (+5000)
20. Toronto Blue Jays (+6000)
21. Cincinnati Reds (+8000)
22. San Francisco Giants (+8000)
Do the San Francisco Giants possess high-end talent? Not really. Are they going to contend for an NL West title with the Dodgers? Almost certainly no. That said, they don’t really have any incredible weaknesses.
The addition of Willy Adames secured their most questionable position from a year ago, and the return of Jung Hoo Lee to the outfield also helps tremendously. Outside of them, the Giants boast a potentially elite starting rotation with Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison. Their bullpen is obviously solid and could improve if Camilo Doval regains his 2023 form. Their lineup, while unproven at the DH position, is not bad anywhere else, with catcher Patrick Bailey and right fielder Mike Yastrzemski being arguably the weakest hitters — and they’re not bad by any means.
The long shots
23. St. Louis Cardinals (+10000)
24. Pittsburgh Pirates (+12500)
25. Athletics (+20000)
26. Washington Nationals (+20000)
27. Los Angeles Angels (+25000)
28. Chicago White Sox (+50000)
29. Colorado Rockies (+50000)
30. Miami Marlins (+50000)
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Athletics have opportunities to shock people this year. In fact, in a recent MLB player survey, the Athletics were selected as the most likely team to surprise fans this year. With bats like Brent Rooker, Lawrence Butler, Zack Gelof, Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers, as well as a potential breakout in rookie Jacob Wilson, the A’s offense is nothing to be trifled with — especially in that smaller Sacramento ballpark. Their bullpen is obviously strong, and they made some sneaky good additions to their rotation, signing both Luis Severino and Jeffrey Springs this offseason.
As for the Pirates, they are a little unproven on the offensive end, and their bullpen is a huge question mark with likely closer David Bednar struggling in his spring training outings. That said, they could have one of the best rotations in baseball. Paul Skenes is a favorite for National League Cy Young. Mitch Keller and Jared Jones aren’t spectacular, but have tools that could propel them to mid-3 ERAs, which would be great as third or fourth options in the rotation. Meanwhile, prospect Bubba Chandler has been lights-out his entire minor league career and could be a major addition to the rotation when he is called up.