It’s official: the 2025 World Series is set. After sprinting through the NL playoffs with only one loss, the Los Angeles Dodgers are back and have been waiting for the AL to decide its challenger. The Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners went seven games, with the Blue Jays earning a comeback win to get to their first Fall Classic in three decades. 

How the Los Angeles Dodgers got to the World Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers got back to the World Series because they have the best roster in baseball. They are absolutely star-studded up and down the roster with guys like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Blake Snell. No other team in baseball could rival LA’s star power this year, and that’s why they’ve made good on their status as preseason favorites thus far. 

They didn’t even finish with a top-three record in the NL, but their healthy talent was more than enough to help them run through the playoffs with very little challenge. They swept both the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers, and only lost once against the Philadelphia Phillies. They’re poised to repeat as champions for the first time since the New York Yankees won three straight in 1998, 1999, and 2000. 

It turns out, spending an unfathomable amount of money on a roster is a good way to ensure success. The Dodgers have become the premier spenders in baseball, and it’s worked. They went all-out in 2024, signing Ohtani, Glasnow, Hernandez, and others en route to a title. Then, they continued their insane spending spree in 2025 by adding Roki Sasaki, Snell, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates. Adding all that complementary talent to the unbelievable core they already had was a smart idea, and it’s paid off richly so far. 

Health has been a big factor for the Dodgers, though. They struggled to find healthy arms in the 2024 postseason and in 2025 during the regular season. Getting players like Snell, Sasaki, Clayton Kershaw, and Glasnow back healthy to pitch in the postseason has been crucial, and it’ll be a big reason for whatever success they have in the final round. 

How the Blue Jays got to the World Series

The Blue Jays took a different route to the World Series. They’re not wildly star-studded, and they’ve even won both playoff series without one of their best players in Bo Bichette. They signed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a massive extension and immediately saw the rewards with a division title, AL pennant, and Guerrero Jr.’s ALCS MVP award. 

They got a career year (following a career-worst season, ironically) from George Springer, but the Jays just aren’t dripping with talent. They’re well-rounded and well-coached, which is how they got the World Series. 

They are unbelievably pesky. They take good, long at-bats that frustrate pitchers, and they often win those battles. They’re never out of a game, either, as they have 49 comeback wins in 2025, most in the league. That was never more evident than in Game 7. 

Facing a two-run deficit, the Blue Jays got two on before bunting them over to second and third for Springer. Bunting is never a good idea (the Seattle Mariners literally did the same exact thing earlier and failed to score at all), but Springer made good on the faulty decision by blasting a three-run home run to put the Jays up by one, and reliever Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth to close it out. 

They face a major talent deficit in the World Series, but that’s arguably been the case the entire way. They didn’t have Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. like the New York Yankees did, but they still dispatched them in four games. They didn’t have Eugenio Suarez, Cal Raleigh, or Julio Rodriguez like the Mariners, but they still outlasted them. The Dodgers would be foolish to underestimate them.