MLB odds to win the World Series 2025: Can the Dodgers retain their title?

It's that time of the year again, as Major League Baseball is finally ready for the playoffs. Twelve teams will battle it out, with four winners of their respective divisions - Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Phillies - receiving a bye to the Division Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the defending champions, but, curiously, they are not the favourites to lift the Commissioner's Trophy this year.

MightyTips analyses the MLB World Series odds for various long-term bets, talks about the main contenders and their form ahead of the decisive clashes, and predicts who'll become the world champions in 2025.

While the most popular long-term bet is, obviously, the team to win the World Series, there are other options to choose from. You can select which division, league, or even state the future winners are representing. We'll talk about each betting option below, providing MLB World Series odds just ahead of the playoffs.

Odds to win the World Series

The Philadelphia Phillies, winners of the NL East division, are the team to beat, according to the bookies, as you can bet on Rob Thomson's side at 5.25. Next come the defending champions, the Dodgers, who'll have to play in the Wild Card Series first. The next three favourites all represent the American League - those are the Seattle Mariners, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the New York Yankees. The Cincinnati Reds, who claimed the playoff spot on the last day of the regular season, are the biggest underdogs of the playoffs, but let's be clear - they won't win two out of three games in Los Angeles.

Winning division

Two divisions - the AL East and the NL Central - are represented by three ballclubs. The bet on the AL East looks promising, as one of three clubs will play in the League Series, likely against the Seattle Mariners. Betting the NL Central isn't that good, as the Milwaukee Brewers are the only real contenders here. Finally, if you enjoy betting half a unit on huge odds, it might be worth opting for the AL Central. Cleveland and Detroit play against each other, so you'll have one of them in the Division Series. If this team is to win three series in a row, your bet on odds of 10.00 will hit.

Winning league

There was a total domination by the American League representatives in the 90's, as they won six World Series out of nine. Now it's more like a classic coin flip with a 50% chance for both leagues. In fact, it's dead even in the last 10 years with five victories each. The odds of an American League team winning are slightly higher, but we really doubt this is worth a shot.

Winning state

This is a much more interesting betting option, as you can choose which state is represented by the future world champions. Opting for "the field" here is pretty much betting against three favourites - the Philadelphia Phillies, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Yankees. If you are sure that none of these clubs will claim the Commissioner's Trophy, the odds of 1.90 look very alluring.

We'll talk about the top five contenders in detail below. The MLB playoffs 2025 predictions, as always, are not an easy thing to do, as most ballclubs are fairly even. Still, we can analyse the recent form and squad news to get a better picture. And don't forget the old baseball cliche - batting wins you games, pitching wins you titles.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies won the NL East for the second year running, earning a bye to the Division Series. They already have two key players out until the end of the season in starting pitcher Zach Wheeler and reliever José Alvarado. World Series losers in 2022, the Phillies are the biggest favourites before the start of the playoffs.

The starting pitching looks sharp, and their first three starters will all be southpaws. Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suárez have already been confirmed to start the first two games, and Jesús Luzardo is almost certain to take the mound in the third playoff game. Shortstop Trea Turner returned to full health in the last game of the regular season, which is a big boost to the Pennsylvania outfit.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are surely the best MLB team of the last 10 years, reaching the World Series four times and winning it twice. Blake Snell will be the first starter against the Reds, whom the Dodgers have beaten five times in six games in the 2025 season. Japanese pitchers Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto will follow, and Tyler Glasnow is the fourth starter if the team reaches the Division Series.

The big question is whether the catcher Will Smith will be ready to play. There's even a chance that the Dodgers will enter the postseason with three catchers on the roster, if Smith is day-to-day. The bullpen wasn't great in the last games, and that remains a serious concern for Dave Roberts. Brock Stewart is out for the year, while fellow relievers Michael Kopech and Kirby Yates hope to be back somewhere during the playoffs.

CAL.
RALEIGH.
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— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2025

Seattle Mariners

Bryan Woo, Seattle's most consistent arm during the season, should be ready by the Division Series start, although he might be pushed back to game 2 or even game 3 against the winners of the Tigers-Guardians clash. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, and Luis Castillo will complete the rotation.

Cal Raleigh, the club's most dangerous weapon with 60 home runs during the season, is red hot, and he should carry the team through the first barrier at least. The Mariners are back in the playoffs after a two-year break. While they are the top favourites of the American League, many pundits question their lack of experience, and it remains to be seen how they will cope with the pressure.

Toronto Blue Jays

The champions in 1992 and 1993 hope to bring the trophy back to Toronto after a break of over 30 years. The Blue Jays will have a very familiar opponent at the start, as both the Red Sox and the Yankees play in the same division. We can expect Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, rookie Trey Yesavage, and Max Scherzer to make the starting rotation. However, Chris Bassitt will be fit by then, too. One of these guys will be switched to the bullpen, but the starting rotation looks very sharp.

Another starting pitcher, José Berríos, is out for the season, and Eric Lauer, who played very well lately, might become a reliever in October. The Blue Jays are a rare playoff contender that might lack batting power. Bo Bichette is still recovering from a knee sprain, and his return is vital. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is expected to hit big in any case, or Toronto might fall short despite great pitching.

Milwaukee Brewers

The NL Central champions for the fourth time in five years, the Brewers haven't advanced a single round in the playoffs since 2018. The curse has clearly taken over the team, and while everybody in the ballclub is eager to end the bad streak, this will also add extra pressure, which is never a good thing. In the meantime, they have won the most games in the regular season with 97 victories.

The biggest squad problem is definitely starting pitching, as Brandon Woodruff is on the injured list with a shoulder muscle strain. He might miss the whole postseason for the second time in three years. Jose Quintana should be the third starter behind Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester, but he is also injured at the moment. There's a chance that reliever DL Hall will start, too, especially if Quintana is unable to play.

After analysing the MLB World Series odds and the top favourites, let's try to predict the postseason scenario. We simply can't see the Dodgers losing at home to the Reds, and they'll meet the Phillies after that. While the Wild Card Series between the Cubs and the Padres looks even, both should and likely will lose to the Brewers in any case. At the same time, we suppose that the Dodgers will consequently beat the Phillies and the Brewers to advance to the World Series.

In the American League, we'll go with the Yankees to beat Boston and the Guardians to beat Detroit. The Division Series between Seattle and Cleveland should go the Mariners' way, while the Yankees will bring a surprise in knocking out Toronto. However, Seattle will be too much for New York, and they will stop one step short of the World Series.

That leaves us with a Dodgers versus Mariners duel, and we'll go with experience here, predicting that LA will retain the title.