The champagne has dried from the Los Angeles Dodgers' second straight World Series celebration, and while MLB free agency is now officially underway, it'll be a little bit before the Hot Stove officially heats up. That leaves us fans with a bit of a vacuum that needs to be filled — and what better way to do so than to take a peek at which team might hoist the Commissioner's Trophy next year? (What, did you expect us to just not think about baseball for a week or two? Be serious.)
Yes, that's right: We're already talking 2026 World Series odds, baby. And with all due respect to Vegas, we have some questions about which teams they're high and low on at the start of the offseason.
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Full 2026 World Series odds (as of Nov. 7)
Here's how the 2026 World Series odds stack up at the dawn of free agency in early November, courtesy of FanDuel.
Team | Odds | 2025 record (postseason finish) |
|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Dodgers | +350 | 93-69 (won WS) |
New York Yankees | +700 | 94-68 (lost ALDS) |
Philadelphia Phillies | +1000 | 96-66 (lost NLDS) |
New York Mets | +1100 | 83-79 (missed playoffs) |
Houston Astros | +1300 | 87-75 (missed playoffs) |
Seattle Mariners | +1300 | 90-72 (lost ALCS) |
Toronto Blue Jays | +1700 | 94-68 (lost WS) |
Boston Red Sox | +1800 | 89-73 (lost ALWC) |
Atlanta Braves | +2000 | 76-86 (missed playoffs) |
San Diego Padres | +2000 | 90-72 (lost NLWC) |
Milwaukee Brewers | +2200 | 97-65 (lost NLCS) |
Chicago Cubs | +2500 | 92-70 (lost NLDS) |
Detroit Tigers | +2500 | 87-75 (lost ALDS) |
Cleveland Guardians | +2700 | 88-74 (lost ALWC) |
Baltimore Orioles | +3000 | 75-87 (missed playoffs) |
San francisco Giants | +3300 | 81-81 (missed playoffs) |
Kansas City Royals | +3500 | 82-80 (missed playoffs) |
Cincinnati Reds | +4000 | 83-79 (lost NLWC) |
Texas Rangers | +4000 | 81-81 (missed playoffs) |
Tampa Bay Rays | +5000 | 77-85 (missed playoffs) |
Arizona Diamondbacks | +6000 | 80-82 (missed playoffs) |
St. Louis Cardinals | +10000 | 78-84 (missed playoffs) |
Athletics | +10000 | 76-86 (missed playoffs) |
Minnesota Twins | +10000 | 70-92 (missed playoffs) |
Miami Marlins | +15000 | 79-83 (missed playoffs) |
Pittsburgh Pirates | +25000 | 71-91 (missed playoffs) |
Los Angeles Angels | +30000 | 72-90 (missed playoffs) |
Colorado Rockies | +50000 | 43-119 (missed playoffs) |
Chicago White Sox | +50000 | 60-102 (missed playoffs) |
Washington Nationals | +50000 | 66-96 (missed playoffs) |
It shouldn't surprise anyone that the Dodgers are the clear betting favorites; sure, it took one of the most improbable rallies in World Series history, but they are the back-to-back champs, and they remain the king until someone knocks them off the throne.
From there, though, we've got some eyebrow-raising results. It takes an awful long while to get to the team that nearly topped L.A.'s repeat bid, with the Toronto Blue Jays at the seventh-best odds — below not one but two different clubs that missed the postseason entirely in 2025 (not to mention two teams they beat in the AL playoffs in the Yankees and Mariners).
Toronto isn't the only team that justifiably might feel disrespected, either.
2026 World Series odds we're buying ahead of MLB free agency
Toronto Blue Jays (+1700)
Where else can we start but the defending AL champs? You'd think that after a season in which they won 94 games, beat two tough teams in the ALDS and ALCS and pushed the defending-champion Dodgers to the brink, everyone would realize that the Blue Jays are just very, very good. And yet, they sit seventh, fourth in the AL behind New York, Seattle and Houston.
Sure, there are question marks. The pitching staff, in particular, needs reinforcements. But Shane Bieber coming back for 2026 is a massive development, giving Toronto's rotation a sturdy top three to build around alongside Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage. We know this ownership group is willing to spend big when it has reason to, and this year's magical run might finally be the thing that convinces free agents to consider a move to Canada. The Blue Jays are here to stay, and there's no reason for the gap in the AL odds to be as wide as it is.
Atlanta Braves (+2000)
We spent last winter buying a Braves bounce-back after a disappointing, injury-marred 2023 campaign. And now, here I am again ... willing to buy a Braves bounce-back after a disappointing, injury-marred 2024 campaign. Charlie Brown, football, etc. etc.
I get the skepticism; there's a ton of injury risk involved with this rotation, and guys like Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II took worrying steps back. But this roster remains absolutely loaded, and if they all play to the backs of their baseball cards, I'm not sure there's a team with more talent in the NL this side of the Dodgers.
If Atlanta finds a shortstop (... Bo Bichette, anyone?) and adds pitching depth, we're in business. And Alex Anthopoulos should have much more money to play with this winter than last after resetting the luxury-tax penalty.
San Francisco Giants (+3300)
If you're looking for a true dark horse to get behind, consider San Francisco. The 2025 team was more or less the definition of pure mid, but there are reasons to buy in for 2026.
For starters, Willy Adames won't start as slowly as he did this year (we think), and Rafael Devers will be around for the entire season — not to mention top prospect Bryce Eldridge and his light-tower power. And when you consider how much space the Giants have between their current payroll and the luxury tax threshold, plus how desperate Buster Posey is to get this team back to October, it feels like some huge swings could be on the table. It would not surprise me at all if this was the team that eventually won the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes, and if that happens, you can expect these odds to jump considerably.
2026 World Series odds we're selling ahead of MLB free agency
New York Yankees (+700)
Even as a Yankees fan — or maybe because I'm a Yankees fan? — I'm having an awfully hard time buying New York as the AL favorites entering 2026. Maybe Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman will surprise us all by opening up the checkbook and landing Tucker, but at this point, I'll believe that when I see it. More likely, New York more or less runs it back, with Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger returning and Gerrit Cole back in the rotation by midsummer (at least we hope).
All of which is fine; this team did put up the best run differential in the American League in 2025, after all. But of course, we know that regular-season dominance doesn't tell the whole story with this team. The October struggles are real, and there's no reason to expect a different script next time with largely the same group of players. New York should be one of the favorites to make it to the World Series, but positioning them a cut above Toronto and others feels off to me.
Houston Astros (+1300)
Am I missing something here? The Astros missed the playoffs entirely this season, and now face an offseason in which they're likely to lose lefty Framber Valdez in free agency. Houston only has one (1) pitcher who threw more than 100 innings in 2025 currently under contract, and it's unclear how exactly they plan to fix an offense that collapsed in the second half.
Yet, despite all of the above, they're ... fifth in all of baseball, and second in the AL? Seriously? It would be one thing if the Astros figured to be major players on the free-agent market, but that isn't Jim Crane's M.O. Houston's position-player group is going to look more or less the same, and this pitching staff is riddled with question marks. I'm way out at this price.
San Diego Padres (+2000)
The vibes are similarly sketchy in San Diego, where AJ Preller's all-in bid at the trade deadline flopped in the NLDS — and now leaves the Padres with a whole bunch of holes to fill and limited funds to fill them. The rotation is set to lose Dylan Cease and Michael King, plus Yu Darvish has already been ruled out for 2026 after undergoing elbow surgery. The lineup, while long on big names, was short on power last season, and loses Ryan O'Hearn to the open market as well.
And again, we have no idea how much if any money Preller is going to have to work with this winter. Maybe they can pull off a coup for someone like Kyle Schwarber or Munetaka Murakami, but I don't see how they don't enter next season as a very top-heavy roster. There's only so far a team with Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado can fall, but top-10 odds don't sit right.