Can Anyone Take Down the Dodgers? The Teams Most Likely to Ruin LA's Bid for Back-to-Back Championships
I’m not sure baseball has ever seen a top of the order more intimidating than the current Dodgers’. Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Will Smith round out what could be an all-star lineup, not a single team all on long-term contracts. Ohtani, of course, is the biggest name, whose return to the mound has been met with higher expectations than the outcome. Nonetheless, it’s filling seats and giving Dodgers fans hope for what could be an actual option in the rotation going into the postseason. Last year proved that Ohtani was worth his contract, even without the pitching. Sitting in 2025 now, however, the rest of baseball is trying to solve the Dodgers’ puzzle. How do you stop a monster rotation and hit around some of the best pitchers in baseball? It’s difficult, but I still think there are a small number of teams that can do it. Here’s my list of the top teams that have a chance to take down the Dodgers.
1. New York Mets
For me, the biggest challenge for the Dodgers right now is the Mets. Between Fransicso Lindor, Pete Alonso, and of course, Juan Soto and his infamous free agent decision to leave the Yankees, this team has what it takes to compete with the reigning champs. The scary part is, their offense is not even what’s making them so competitive this year; it’s the pitching. The Mets’ 3.35 ERA ranks second-best in baseball, just behind the Rangers. A pitching group of Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, and David Peterson is frightening in its own right, but you combine that with a bullpen staff that ranks eighth in baseball, and you become a problem. I am sensing a collision course between this team and the Dodgers in the NLCS, and I could see the series going either way.
2. New York Yankees
If the Dodgers have the best offense in baseball, the Yankees aren’t far behind. Between the otherworldly talent in Aaron Judge, who deserves an entire article about in his own right, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, and those infamous torpedo-shaped bats, this team can score runs in a hurry. Their pitching is no weakness, either. Max Fried has been one of the best starting pitchers in the league this year, alongside Carlos Rodon, who has really turned a leaf this season, and a strong bullpen. They faced some injuries with the pitching staff earlier in the year, notably losing their ace Gerrit Cole to a season-ending elbow tear, but have found some solid replacements in Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. If they can clean up some defensive errors, namely in the infield like Anthony Volpe, they should have a solid chance of making it back to the World Series.
3. Detroit Tigers
What an incredible comeback story for the Tigers. A team that was sitting in the cellar of baseball for years has now made it a two-year stretch of incredible baseball. Last year, Detroit was experiencing baseball euphoria returning to the playoffs and winning in the Wild Card against Houston, and now the Tigers proudly hold the best record in all of baseball at 52-32. There’s no one player offensively you can point to that’s been the single difference maker. The Tigers are just getting hits up and down the depth chart. Riley Greene and Spencer Torkelson are the crowd favorites, two young talents that have come up through the Tigers’ system, but then there have also been recent additions of Gleyber Torres and Zach McKinstry who have really come to life. Javier Baez is back to playing what most people expected out of him, and Wenceel Perez has provided a spark off the bench almost every opportunity he gets. You combine all of that with a Tarik Skubal led pitching rotation, and no team should be excited to face Detroit come October.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are on somewhat of a different timeline than the Tigers. Between aging stars like 32-year-old Kyle Schwarber and 33-year-old Nick Castellanos, this team is really in “win-now” mode. They don’t know how long many of their key position players can continue playing, but they have the roster to compete this year. For Rob Thompson and his team they have all their attention and focus on going for it all now. They have outstanding pitching, with Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, and Jesus Luzardo. The question is, can this aging team stay healthy enough and consistent enough for a deep playoff run?
5. Houston Astros
The Astros are…back? Last year felt like a disappointment for the Astros, for Astros’ standards at least. They finished first in the AL West, but went one-and-done in the Wild Card after suffering an upset loss at home to the Tigers. With Yordan Alvarez out right now with a hand injury, and Jose Altuve not playing like he has in the past, Houston has needed to rely on unusual suspects for strong hitting. If you ask any Astros fan about it, however, they’ll tell you it’s working. Isaac Paredes has fully replaced Altuve in the leadoff spot and has really shone in the role this year with a 0.830 OPS. Twenty-two-year-old rookie Cam Smith has replaced Alvarez, for the time being, in the cleanup spot and has done well with 33 RBIs in his 69 games played. To top it all off, the pitching led by Hunter Brown has been great, ranking seventh in baseball with a 3.52 ERA. What the Astros have been doing this year hasn’t been flashy or groundbreaking, but they’ve quietly emerged as second in all of the American League with a 49-34 record. They’ll have their chance this year to return to their usual spot in the American League Championship Series.
