2025 World Series odds: The Dodgers have a chance to become champions for the first time since the Yankees in 2000

The Los Angeles Dodgers have only been world champions for less than 12 hours, but they're already among the favorites to be in the exact same spot a year from now.

BetMGM released its odds for the 2025 World Series champions on Thursday morning, and the Dodgers lead the field at +400 to win it all and become the first returning World Series champions since the New York Yankees in 2000.

Behind the Dodgers is a familiar list of teams, many of which we've seen in the earlier rounds of this year's playoffs. The Yankees are tied with the Atlanta Braves for second place at +800, and the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies are tied for third at +1100.

The Dodgers could be even better next year

As dominant as the Dodgers looked this postseason, they faced huge headwinds in the form of injuries to their rotation entering October. They beat the San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Yankees, all 2025 contenders, with just three usable starting pitchers.

Things could be a little different next season, barring a similar series of horrific injuries. While Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty and Game 3 starter Walker Buehler are both pending free agents, Yoshinobu Yamamoto returns, as do Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow and, most tantalizingly, the pitching staff of Shohei Ohtani.

That's four spots in the rotation that have already been solidified for the Dodgers, with potential returns Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller all waiting in the wings after lost 2024 seasons. Clayton Kershaw also has a player option for 2025 and has announced his intention to return.

Any of the players mentioned above could suffer further injuries in 2025, but it's hard not to imagine 2024 as a worst-case scenario in which the Dodgers more than survived. They lost more than one rotation of pitchers and still came away with a trophy, and now they could add even more pitchers to the mix this offseason.

What could the Dodgers do this offseason?

The Dodgers are already well-positioned for 2025, but that doesn't mean their offseason to-do list is empty.

In addition to the starting pitching situation mentioned above, Los Angeles' impending free agents include outfielder Teoscar Hernández, top reliever Blake Treinen, proven reliever Daniel Hudson, shortstop Miguel Rojas and utility man Kiké Hernández.

Re-signing first Hernández will be the biggest priority unless the Dodgers believe they can do better. That might be difficult considering Hernández is a consistent center fielder who has consistently hit the ground running, but earlier this week it was reported that the Dodgers are aggressively pursuing an offer for Yankees star Juan Soto.

We don't have to think twice about how outrageous it would be for the Dodgers to sign Ohtani to a $700 million contract, win a World Series, and then sign Soto to a similar mega-contract. But the possibility is there.

Meanwhile, Treinen and Hudson have both been key arms for the Dodgers this season, but the team's track record of finding ace relievers out of nowhere reduces the chances of the team spending big on the bullpen this winter.

Shortstop will also be needed if Rojas and the rest of Hernández leave, although the possibility of parking Tommy Edman or Mookie Betts at that position means the Dodgers could look for help in the outfield instead, depending on how the market develops. Either way, they probably need a few more position players.

And then there is Roki Sasaki.

Could the Dodgers sign Roki Sasaki?

Roki Sasaki is a 22-year-old Japanese right-hander who has been considered one of the most enticing young pitchers in baseball history in recent years. He regularly throws 100 mph, has two devastating secondary pitches and threw a perfect game with 19 strikeouts in 2022.

Sasaki could conceivably be added to the MLB this offseason, although that's not a certainty. His team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, wouldn't want that, so it would come down to whether he can build enough pressure to force a deployment. If he gets posted, every team in baseball would be interested. After all, how often can you land a potential superstar pitcher who you don't actually have to pay for six years?

Because he is under 25, Sasaki would be subject to international bonus pools as a free agent rather than receiving a mega-contract like Yamamoto's last offseason. It's the same thing Ohtani did before the 2018 season, when every interested team had to sell the player on why they were the best situation for him with no money as an incentive.

The Dodgers typically face a financial struggle, but beyond that, they have a lot to offer Sasaki. They already have two Japanese stars in Ohtani and Yamamoto to help with the transition and take pressure off Sasaki, who has the largest Japanese population of any MLB market and enormous cultural prestige in his home country.

And now they can promise not only a perennial contender, but also a World Series champion team. The Dodgers have long been considered a prime contender, if not the favorite, should Sasaki be drafted, but they could be in a particularly good position this offseason.