Entering the 2025 MLB season, it is the Los Angeles Dodgers and then everyone else — on paper, at least. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the league is going to roll over and let L.A. cruise to a second straight World Series title.

We asked six of our MLB experts to each pick one team they think is best suited to take down the Dodgers in October, when it counts the most. While none of our experts necessarily thinks this team will be better than the Dodgers over the course of 162 games, they made their best cases for their club having the right formula to knock L.A. out — and surprisingly nobody on our panel chose either New York team.

How strong were their cases? We left that for our resident judge — the honorable Jeff Passan — to decide with his ruling on each contender.

The case for the D-backs: The D-backs have already done this. They knocked off the Dodgers in 2023, then Corbin Carroll somehow forgot how to hit for four months, and they still made a five-win improvement year-over-year.

Yes, the Dodgers were better last season — unlike the D-backs, they actually made the playoffs, then went on to win the World Series — and have more talent now. But here are three things worth considering:

1. When Carroll is going right offensively, the D-backs’ offense elevates to another level. Look no further than August, when Carroll tapped back into his old self and the entire team led the sport in most major offensive categories. There’s no reason the Carroll of last August and September can’t translate for the full six-month season this year.

2. I’d actually take the D-backs’ rotation over that of the Dodgers. You read that right. The Dodgers’ group has a higher ceiling, but it’s also more volatile. At this point, I have more confidence in the quintet of Corbin Burnes, Zac Gallen, Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly and Brandon Pfaadt, with the thought that Jordan Montgomery can’t possibly be worse than he was last season.

3. This is a hard-nosed team that plays fundamentally sound, loves being overlooked and is not the least bit afraid of the Dodgers.

Does that mean the D-backs will win the National League West? Probably not. But can they knock the Dodgers out in October again? I’d say they’re better equipped to do so than anyone else. — Alden Gonzalez

Judge Jeff says: Though I’m not buying the argument that the Diamondbacks’ rotation is better than the Dodgers, it’s close enough to acknowledge that Arizona does indeed offer some formidable starting pitching, particularly Burnes and Gallen. And the Diamondbacks did lead Major League Baseball in runs scored last year, though replacing Christian Walker and Joc Pederson with Josh Naylor and a Pavin Smith–Randal Grichuk platoon is at best a wash and probably a downgrade.

Arizona’s trade for A.J. Puk at the deadline last year and the emergence of Justin Martinez and his high-octane fastball turned a late-inning liability into a strength, and while Ketel Marte might struggle to replicate last year — no shame considering he finished third in MVP voting — a Carroll comeback and a full year of Gabriel Moreno would go a long way.

The Diamondbacks are Dodgers Lite: good in all the necessary areas and well positioned to pull a 2022 all over again, just a tick behind the team that everyone is chasing.

The case for the Braves: There are two main reasons to go with Atlanta here.

1. The Braves are arguably the second-most-talented team in baseball.

2. It can’t possibly get any worse than last year.

Last spring, the Braves were considered NL favorites. Then disaster struck at every turn. Injuries surfaced throughout the roster, regression spread around the lineup — and they still won 89 games, finished second in the NL East and reached the postseason for the seventh straight year.

Spencer Strider, one of the most talented pitchers on the planet, and Ronald Acuna Jr., who became the founding member of the 40/70 club during his MVP 2023 season, were sidelined for nearly all of 2024. Austin Riley, Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and Sean Murphy spent weeks on the injured list. Matt Olson fell off from his MVP-caliber 2023 campaign.

It wasn’t all terrible — they did make the playoffs after all. Chris Sale rebounded from years of injuries to win his first Cy Young Award in his age-35 season. Max Fried was elite when healthy. Marcell Ozuna was a powerful metronome in the middle of the order. Reynaldo Lopez made the All-Star team in his return to starting. Spencer Schwellenbach burst onto the scene with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts. Raisel Iglesias was one of the top closers in baseball.

But the Braves weren’t the Braves we expected. This year should be different. Strider, coming off elbow surgery, could return by late April. Acuña, coming off his second ACL tear, should be in the lineup by the end of May. Riley’s fractured right hand is healed — and he avoided another fracture from being hit by a pitch Friday. Sale said he’s fully recovered from back spasms that kept him off the playoff roster. Harris and Albies are healthy. Jurickson Profar, an All-Star with the Padres last season, was signed to play left field.

The Braves are still ubertalented with All-Stars up and down the roster. FanGraphs projects them to finish 93-69 (second best in the majors behind the Dodgers) with a 93.1% chance to reach the postseason, 64.2% chance to claim the NL East title and 15.7% chance to win their second World Series in five years. As we learned last season, projections don’t mean much. But odds are the Braves are the Dodgers’ stiffest challenge. — Jorge Castillo

Judge Jeff says: The strength of this case — and it’s a very good one — rests on the returns of Acuña and Strider to their MVP- and Cy Young-level selves. Both of those are far from rock solid. The last time Acuña tore an ACL, he didn’t look like himself until two years later. Pitchers who undergo elbow reconstruction can struggle with their command and feel, two of Strider’s best attributes, in their first season back as well.

That said: Across-the-board improvement from Atlanta is not far-fetched. The heart of the lineup is a wrecking crew. It’s the Braves’ arms, though, that ultimately will determine their trajectory. Losing Max Fried hurts, especially with Reynaldo López’s velocity dip this spring, and the onus will be on Spencer Schwellenbach to emerge as a front-of-the-rotation-type arm. A playoff trio of Sale, Strider and Schwellenbach is plenty capable of quieting Los Angeles’ bats.

What of the late innings, though? The Jimenez injury is more serious than it seems; beyond Iglesias and Pierce Johnson, the Braves’ right-handed relief options are limited. If a couple of pitchers vying for a back-end rotation spot wind up in the bullpen, or if the Braves are aggressive at the deadline, it would round out the team that looks like the Dodgers’ most formidable foe in 2025.

The case for the Orioles: The Orioles didn’t have the splashiest winter, especially considering they actually amped up their payroll. But Baltimore is in strong position to not only beat baseline projections, but to get better as the season goes along.

After three years of winning baseball and two straight postseason appearances (albeit with zero playoff wins), the Orioles retain a great deal of collective breakout potential on the offensive side.

Whether it’s in the form of a bounce back from Adley Rutschman, any kind of continued improvement from Gunnar Henderson or a second-year leap from Jackson Holliday, the Orioles still have a deep well of young hitters who have yet to post a career season. The Orioles project to be a top-tier offensive team, but they have the upside to be an absolute juggernaut — and a handful for anyone they face in October. Even the Dodgers.

The pitching staff is serviceable right now and should improve the deeper we get into the campaign. The rotation in particular stands to benefit from injury returns. If they have the will, the Orioles remain well positioned for an impact pickup or two during the season.

If they get a fully blossomed Orioles offense to October with Felix Bautista back to full domination at the back of the pen and a Rodriguez-led rotation consistent and settled, this might be the year the Orioles have been angling for since they began their rebuild. If it is, watch out, Dodgers. — Bradford Doolittle

Judge Jeff says: Nothing says championship like serviceability! Banking on injury returns from pitchers is, as we know, a tricky proposition. And if that is the starting point for Baltimore, the foundation of its case is laden with fragility.

Still, Brad’s point about the Orioles’ lineup is salient. If the Orioles get the Henderson and Jordan Westburg of last year, the Rutschman of his first two seasons and improved versions of Holliday, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad, they can field the sort of lineup that can mash with the Dodgers. Bautista should stabilize a bullpen loaded with power arms.

It’s hard to get past a rotation that lacks a frontline starter, though. Baltimore let Corbin Burnes walk this winter, and its biggest power source, Anthony Santander, went to Toronto. This is supposed to be the Orioles’ window, and going into it with a rotation of Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer, Tomoyuki Sugano and Cade Povich doesn’t scream championship. Should the Orioles fix their rotation this summer — with the return of Grayson Rodriguez and a trade-deadline addition — they could be the team to beat in the American League. For now, they’re just a group that doesn’t quite stack up with the Dodgers.

The case for the Phillies: Call this old-school thinking, but I’ll still bet on starting pitching in October, and the Phillies might be the only team that can match the Dodgers’ high-end potential in this department — except the Phillies have a much better track record of keeping their starters healthy. The Phillies already had a stellar rotation with Zack Wheeler leading the way — and given his career 2.18 ERA in 70 postseason innings, he’s the starter you want out there for a big game in October — and added Jesus Luzardo with rookie Andrew Painter on the way as well. Plus, Cristopher Sanchez has added velocity this spring and looks like a sleeper Cy Young candidate. It’s a rotation that can shut down the Dodgers’ offense, with Painter perhaps a dominant force out of the bullpen for the postseason.

The Phillies have played more playoff games than any other team the past three seasons — although oddly haven’t matched up against the Dodgers. Can they score enough runs to beat the Dodgers? Yes. While the offense is starting to get a little old, it can still be elite when everybody is clicking. Bryce Harper has been a great hitter throughout his postseason career (OPS over 1.000), while Kyle Schwarber has slugged .539. Max Kepler gives them another lefty bat to lengthen the lineup.

Starting pitching, a potential wipeout arm in the bullpen and left-handed power is how you knock off the Dodgers and win a World Series. — David Schoenfield

Judge Jeff says: Dave speaks a lot of truth here. Let’s not forget: At the All-Star break last season, the Phillies held the top seed in the NL. The lack of a big free agent signing didn’t help matters, particularly after the Mets stunned Philadelphia in the division series, but good teams have bad weeks. Just ask the 2022 and 2023 Dodgers.

If the Phillies are going to beat the Dodgers, they need more than Harper, Schwarber and Trea Turner, their core hitters, to produce. Whether it’s Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott, one of their young(er) infielders must have a career-type year. J.T. Realmuto is good; at 34, does he have one more great season left in him?

At the forefront of Philadelphia’s case is its pitching staff. Whether it’s Wheeler, Sanchez and Nola in a short series or the addition of Suarez or Luzardo to a seven-game, the Phillies’ starting pitching is the team’s soul. Considering a bullpen implosion ruined them last October, Philadelphia’s fortunes this time around could depend on whether Jordan Romano finds his best stuff and Jose Alvarado rebounds to make a terrifying quartet with Matt Strahm and Orion Kerkering.

The case for the Padres: Nobody came closer to beating the Dodgers in the 2024 postseason than the Padres. It could have been San Diego holding the trophy if not for L.A.’s comeback performance in the division series after getting down 2-1. Simply put, San Diego is no worse this year. After a winter of trade rumors, Luis Arraez is still there — and presumably for a full season — and the same goes for Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez and almost everyone from the team that won 93 games a year ago. The Dodgers beat them by five games in the division, then got that scare in the playoffs. And just when everyone thought the Padres were going to zig, they zagged this winter by signing starter Nick Pivetta. He’ll cover innings lost while Joe Musgrove recovers from Tommy John surgery.

The team is so star-studded, you might forget it has one of the young talents in the game in outfielder Jackson Merrill — now with a year under his belt. Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis Jr. is still in his prime, Manny Machado is still raking, and Yu Darvish is still pitching. And I’d bet good money that Xander Bogaerts will rebound from essentially a career-low OPS+. That lineup can rival L.A — as can the pitching staff. The Dodgers might be deeper when injuries hit but in terms of frontline arms, San Diego is right there. The Padres can take down anyone, including the Dodgers. — Jesse Rogers

Judge Jeff says: The main premise — “San Diego is no worse this year” — is just not correct. The Padres lost their best hitter by OPS last season, Jurickson Profar, to Atlanta in free agency. Left-handed relief ace Tanner Scott bopped up Interstate 5 to join the Dodgers. San Diego’s shortstop for a majority of the season, Ha-Seong Kim, decamped for Tampa Bay. The Padres’ best catcher, Kyle Higashioka, is now in Texas.

Certainly Pivetta helps make up for Musgrove’s injury. And Bogaerts played shortstop after Kim’s shoulder injury. And the Padres’ bullpen is plenty deep to withstand Scott’s defection. And perhaps Jose Iglesias, Connor Joe or Jason Heyward gives them a high-production bat on a low-cast contract as Profar did last year. Jesse is right about Merrill taking the leap, Tatis returning to his pre-PED-suspension excellence and Machado’s consistency — and he didn’t even mention Michael King, who, like Cease, is a free agent following the season.

The festering dislike between the teams adds an element that doesn’t exist among the other contenders. The Padres ousted the Dodgers in 2022. If there’s a case to be made for San Diego, it’s that with emotions running high every time they meet and each little potential advantage looming large in a short series, the Padres — even if they aren’t better — have a shot. Just not the best.

The case for the Red Sox: Your Honor, we aren’t here to suggest that the Red Sox are the best team in baseball, or even the second best. In fact, the evidence indicates that perhaps the top four or five teams in the majors are in the NL. In the end, however, an AL team will have a seven-game series to take down the Dodgers, and we submit that the revamped Boston Red Sox are uniquely qualified to get this done. The Yankees’ injuries have pulled them back to the pack of teams in their league, and it’s the Red Sox who will take down the AL East and then the AL pennant.

In Game 1 of a World Series against the Dodgers, the Red Sox could lean on Garrett Crochet, a power left-hander, against a Dodgers lineup that might be most vulnerable against power lefties, and in Game 2, they’d have former Dodger Walker Buehler, who would relish the opportunity to take down his old teammates. Who would feel confident betting against Buehler in those circumstances?

The Red Sox have an outstanding lineup, headed by Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman, and Devers and Bregman have the kind of postseason experience to lead this group through the biggest games of the year.

Before they get to the postseason, the Red Sox will have time to short up their greatest weakness, in the bullpen, as the front office and ownership continue to support the team’s 2025 surge. The Red Sox’s farm system is steeped in talent, and maybe they’ll be the team that lands Ryan Helsle, or another coveted bullpen arm. Maybe it’ll be Helsley or Liam Hendriks who has the ball needing three outs to beat baseball’s best team.

It was a former president of the Red Sox, the late Larry Lucchino, who coined the phrase “Evil Empire” in baseball. At the time, he was referring to the Yankees. Now it’s the Dodgers who hold that title. And so, your Honor, I submit it would be just that it’s Larry’s former team that takes down the Dodgers — just as the Red Sox took down the Yankees in 2004.

The Defense for the Red Sox as the AL’s best team rests, Your Honor, and we think you’ll agree they represent the greatest threat to interrupt the Dodgers’ dynasty. — Buster Olney

Judge Jeff says: It says something about the AL that one of the two teams from the league deemed most likely to unseat the Dodgers finished .500 with a plus-4 run differential last year. Buster is correct that the Red Sox upgraded their roster about as well as any team this winter, yes, but all of Boston’s strengths are matched and exceeded by Los Angeles’. The Dodgers are better at two-thirds of the everyday positions. Their rotation is superior. And the difference in bullpens is immense.

Compound that with injuries testing the depth of the Red Sox’s rotation, and it will take a confluence of things — deals for relievers, health for starters, better performance from the lineup and improved infield defense — to put the Red Sox anywhere close to the level of Los Angeles. Certainly the potential arrival of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer would be great for the Red Sox, but it’s not as if the Dodgers lack top prospects, either.

Because the AL playoff picture is so wide open, the path to the World Series is not nearly as treacherous for the Red Sox. Should they arrive, though, the difference between the teams — at least as they’re currently constituted — is more canyon than gap.