Dodgers Clinch 2025 World Series With Yet Another Signing
The Los Angeles Dodgers officially clinched the 2025 World Series on Tuesday, becoming the first team to repeat since the late 1990's New York Yankees.
How? By re-signing Clayton Kershaw, securing the return of one of the best pitchers in baseball history and a Dodgers legend.
That's the reaction, at least, from fans of other teams, including those of the New York Mets. Even though Kershaw's typically been viewed, inaccurately, as a postseason "choker," it was the final straw for those convinced the Dodgers are an unbeatable juggernaut.
They're wrong, of course.
First though, here's an exclusive first look at Kerhsaw in a Dodgers uniform.
LOS ANGELES - Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches during the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2022. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Dodgers Haven't Guaranteed Anything, Despite Prolific Offseason
Many fans have acted as if the season is a foregone conclusion, that the Dodgers additions to their championship team make them an insurmountable force. And while they have assembled one of the best rosters we've seen in a long, long time, if ever, that doesn't mean much.
Their rotation, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and a cast of other potential options including Kershaw, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Bobby Miller, is filled with elite depth and talent. Yet you could make the case that the 2024 rotation was similarly talented. And in October, the Dodgers were forced to use just a three-man rotation of Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler.
Their lineup hasn't changed much, and while their bullpen is deeper, with Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, relievers are notoriously unreliable. Year-to-year performance varies wildly; for example, Dodgers' closer Evan Phillips was virtually unhittable in 2023, but struggled to a mid-3's ERA in 2024.
Yes, they are talented. No, that doesn't guarantee anything.
PECOTA, a Baseball Prospectus-run projection system, has the Dodgers winning 104 games, with a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs. Even with those numbers, they have just a 22% chance of winning the World Series.
This is how modern baseball works: one of the best rosters ever assembled, a near-guarantee to make the postseason, and there's still a 78 percent chance some other team wins. There's just too much randomness, the sample sizes are too small. Kershaw makes the roster that much deeper, particularly for the postseason, if healthy. But there are no guarantees in baseball. No matter how much money you spend or talent you accumulate.