The Los Angeles Dodgers do not believe in “running it back again” even if the previous season ended with a World Series championship. While the rest of Major League Baseball prepared for the coming labor crisis, the richest team in the sport doubled down on its organizational philosophy: offering big contracts to the best players on the market.
The Dodgers shook up baseball’s Winter Meetings with their signing of dominant reliever Edwin Diaz to a three-year $69 million contract. Then in January, they agreed to a four-year $240 million contract with four-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker. Diaz will now close for a staff that features World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, while Tucker nestles into a line-up alongside Mookie Betts, Freedie Freeman, and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, who is also making his full-time return to the mound.
With two bold moves, the Dodgers addressed their two biggest holes (closer and corner outfield) and solidified their status as the overwhelming favorite to become the first team to win three consecutive World Series since the 2000 New York Yankees. The Dodgers opened the season at +220 to win the World Series on Fanatics Sportsbook and currently sit at +225.
The rest of Major League Baseball shouldn’t lose hope, however. The last team to open with similar odds were the 2003 New York Yankees and they fell to a 75-to-1 underdog in the World Series. The Dodgers aren’t unbeatable. But which team has the best shot at snatching the crown? These are the Five Biggest Threats to the Dodgers’ Three-Peat.
(All odds courtesy of Fanatics Sportsbook at time of publication.)
Chicago Cubs +2000
Despite losing Tucker in free agency to the Dodgers, the Cubs entered the 2026 season with World Series aspirations. They added Alex Bregman, resurgent in Boston last season, to a lineup featuring Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, and Pete Crow-Armstrong, a human highlight reel in center who slugged 31 home runs last season. The bullpen improved in free agency but the strength of this team remains its starters. A combination of high-end young arms (Cade Horton, Edwin Cabrera) and solid veteran depth, the Cubs rotation is elite — and that’s before Justin Steele returns later this spring.
Toronto Blue Jays +1400
The Blue Jays’ hopes for their first World Series title since 1993 ended in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7 on a 6-3 double play with the tying run on third. But instead of retreating in heartbreak they opted to reload with a series of bold, aggressive moves: signing Dylan Cease to steady the rotation behind Kevin Gausman, and importing Kazuma Okamoto, the home run king from Japan, to replace Bo Bichette’s production in the infield. With superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed to a 14-year extension, the Jays are built for the long haul.
New York Mets +1200
The Mets’ latest midseason collapse triggered a downward spiral that hit bottom at the Winter Meetings in December, when, within a 72-hour period, they lost All-Star closer Edwin Diaz to the Dodgers and franchise home run leader Pete Alonso to the Orioles. They turned to Plan B: dipping into their deep farm system to acquire Brewers ace Freddy Peralta; trading for Luis Robert Jr., a high-ceiling athletic center fielder; signing Jorge Polanco to patrol first base, and inking Bo Bichette to a three-year $126 million contract. Suddenly, the team’s other offseason moves started to make sense: signing the Yankees late inning relief corps (Devin Williams and Luke Weaver) and swapping long-tenured outfielder Brandon Nimmo for second baseman Marcus Semien. The new additions join a roster that’s the right mix of exciting young talent (Nolan McLean, Francisco Alvarez, and Carson Benge) and superstars (Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto). The Mets are also poised to go big game hunting at the trading deadline.
Seattle Mariners +950
The only franchise in Major League Baseball to never appear in a World Series, the Mariners came this close last October, falling to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game Seven of the ALCS. Seattle didn’t tinker with their strong core, which is led by MVP runner-up Cal Raleigh, five-tool freak Julio Rodriguez, the combustible Randy Arozarena, and starters Bryan Woo and Luis Castillo. An elite farm system will either provide reinforcements this summer or be utilized to bring back a top star in a trade.
New York Yankees +950
Unlike the Dodgers, the Yankees bypassed the roster shakeup its restless fan base craved in favor of a more measured approach. The former Evil Empire’s one goal last offseason was re-signing free agent outfielder Cody Bellinger and though it took a bit longer than they’d anticipated, the former NL MVP returned on a five year $162.5 million deal. Max Fried leads a strong rotation that will be bolstered by the late spring returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon and the remade bullpen has moved on from the failed Devin Williams experiment. But the Bombers are the Dodgers’ greatest threat because they have Aaron Judge. Now fully healed from last season’s lingering elbow injury, the best hitter in baseball is aiming for his fourth AL MVP in five seasons. One red flag: though 15.5% of all bettors have wagered on the Yankees to win the World Series, they represent just 12.4% of the handle.
