5 teams under most pressure to win 2025 World Series

Fairly or unfairly, a handful of teams each year face more scrutiny to perform than the rest of the league. Here, we look at five MLB clubs under the most pressure to win the 2025 World Series.

5. San Diego Padres

The Padres came closer than any team to knocking out the Dodgers in 2024, holding a 2-1 lead in the NLDS before Los Angeles rallied. San Diego has earned a reputation as an aggressive club over the past few seasons, spending big in free agency and turning prospects into impact players at the MLB level. It just hasn't quite paid off in terms of postseason success.

Unfortunately, ownership uncertainty following Peter Seidler's death has somewhat paralyzed the Padres. San Diego did little this offseason, and key pitchers like Dylan Cease and Michael King are considered potential trade candidates if the club struggles since both are heading to free agency at the end of the 2025 season. The Padres have a deep roster, and it's fair to wonder if financial questions will lead to an overhaul. This season could be the last shot for this iteration of the club.

4. New York Mets

The Mets have yet to make it to the World Series since owner Steve Cohen said in 2020 that he'd be disappointed if the club didn't win a championship in "three-to-five years." New York rallied from a tough start last season, eventually righting the ship to get to the NLCS for the first time in nine campaigns. Soto's 15-year, $765-million megadeal will only ratchet up the pressure on the Mets to win it all for the first time since 1986. The deep, balanced lineup looks more than capable of being among the league's most potent in 2025 with Soto in tow.

The rotation could be the biggest obstacle in the Mets' championship pursuit. New York will be without Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas to start the campaign, instead turning to converted reliever Clay Holmes for Opening Day. The Mets lack a true shutdown ace who can take the ball to snap a losing streak or with his team facing elimination in a postseason setting. New York could always add that type of pitcher via trade during the season, but it looks like the biggest weakness on the roster right now.

3. Philadelphia Phillies

The clock is rapidly ticking in Philadelphia. The Phillies took a step back in 2024, bowing out in the NLDS after advancing to the NLCS and World Series the previous two campaigns. Philadelphia has a battle-tested squad filled with veterans and enters 2025 with one of the oldest rosters in baseball. This club is focused on one thing: winning a World Series for the first time since 2008.

The core of Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola are all on the wrong side of 30. Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and Realmuto are free agents at the end of the season, as the Phillies have just nine players on the books for 2026. Philadelphia plays in one of the toughest divisions, making its path to the postseason more difficult than other clubs' routes. There's a strong possibility the 2025 campaign will be this group's last kick at the can. It'll be fascinating to see if the Phillies can finally kick the door down to claim baseball's ultimate prize.

2. New York Yankees

The Yankees came close last season but fell in five games in the World Series to the Dodgers. It was New York's first trip to the Fall Classic in 15 years, and Yankees fans are expecting more of the same in 2025. The American League is wide open. However, this club enters the season with a handful of question marks. Chief among them is an already battered starting rotation. Ace Gerrit Cole will miss the entire campaign after undergoing Tommy John surgery, while 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil is expected to be sidelined indefinitely as he recovers from a strained lat. The injuries have left manager Aaron Boone in a bit of a bind. He'll need offseason acquisition Max Fried to earn his paycheque and Carlos Rodón to perform much better than he has in his first two seasons in New York.

On the offensive side, the biggest question is how the Yankees will handle Juan Soto's departure after he spurned the franchise to sign with the crosstown Mets. The Yankees added Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt and are hoping the two veterans can rebound from disappointing 2024 seasons to replace a big chunk of the 41 home runs, 128 runs scored, and 109 RBIs Soto provided last year. Aaron Judge will also need to be at his best all season long. The two-time MVP turns 33 in April, making it imperative to capitalize on the remaining years of elite production he has left in his bat. The Opening Day roster doesn't look quite World Series caliber, but that won't change expectations. It's still championship or bust for the franchise with 27 titles.

1. Los Angeles Dodgers

This was pretty obvious, wasn't it? The Dodgers are this era's Evil Empire. The franchise continues to infuriate opposing owners, executives, and fans with its exorbitant spending to impose its will over the rest of MLB. As a result, there have been more calls for a salary cap in the next collective bargaining agreement.

The defending champs added a Cy Young winner (Blake Snell) to the rotation, a pair of All-Star closers (Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates) to the back of the bullpen, and one of the crown jewels of the offseason in Japanese import Roki Sasaki. Los Angeles boasts as impressive a collection of talent as the league has seen in quite some time.

Even after winning the 2024 World Series, no team will be under more pressure in 2025 than the Dodgers - and that'll remain the case as long as they have such a significant edge in talent over everyone else. Anything short of a second straight championship will be seen as a complete failure.