I’ve been a sports fan seemingly since birth, but American Major League Baseball has always been my favorite. Whether it’s a spring training game or Game 7 of the World Series, baseball keeps me on the edge of my seat, at home or in the stands. Although my dream of playing in the big leagues fell short due to injuries, my passion for following the game has never wavered. And, with that, I bring you my forecast for the 2025 season of Major League Baseball here in the States, which kicks off March 18.

The boys of summer are back! One sure sign that warm weather is on the horizon is the return of MLB. With spring training now wrapping up, it’s time to preview the 2025 key signings and possible early season trades, and also tell you which teams are favored to make it to the Fall Classic this October.

Many players were on the move this past offseason, including the most sought-after player in decades, outfielder Juan Soto. Soto left the New York Yankees this past December to sign with the crosstown New York Mets. The contract the Mets offered was too tempting for any player to pass up.

The 26-year-old slugger agreed to the largest deal in professional sports history. The contract is said to be a 15-year deal worth $765 million. That number could grow to more than $800 million if Soto meets some of the incentives in the contract — like winning a batting title and leading the Mets to a World Series championship. Something tells me that even if Soto fails to win a batting title or a World Series ring, he is still going to manage just fine financially when he retires.

Third-baseman Alex Bregman was the second-hottest commodity on the free agent market. The longtime Houston Astros star reportedly turned down offers from many teams, including the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and his former team in Houston.

After months of pondering offers, Bregman agreed to a three-year deal to play for the Boston Red Sox. The Sox will reportedly pay Bregman $120 million over the next three years. Not quite Juan Soto money, but $40 million per season is far from chump change!

There is one caveat to Bregman’s deal. He has an opt-out option after the 2025 season. That doesn’t usually happen with someone of Bregman’s caliber. Also, considering he signed with the BoSox much later than expected, it has many of the Red Sox faithful wondering if last season’s third baseman Rafael Devers may be on the trading block.

While Bregman is an improvement at third base defensively, Rafael Devers can mash at the plate with the best of them. Last season Devers hit 28 home runs while amassing a solid .272. He also is a fan favorite in Boston, so if Bregman starts slow this season, don’t be surprised if the boo-birds aren’t out in full force.

Other big-name players to switch squads this offseason include pitchers Max Fried and Corbin Burnes. Left-hander Fried fled Atlanta—after eight seasons, no less!—to sign a lucrative deal with the Yankees, while Burnes headed west to Arizona after pitching last season for the Baltimore Orioles. Burnes joins his third team in a mere seven-year MLB career.

If it wasn’t bad enough dealing with the loss of one of the best pitchers in the game, Orioles fans will also have to get used to being without one of the best power hitters as well. Hard-hitting outfielder Anthony Santander flew north of the border to sign a five-year $92.5-million deal to play for the Toronto Blue Jays, adding some much-needed hitting oomph to the Jays lineup.

MLB itself reports, “according to Santander’s agency, [the deal] includes an opt-out for Santander with an escalated option provision that could bring the deal to six years and $110 million in total.” The 30-year-old Venezuela native hit 44 home runs and drove in 102 runs last season for Baltimore. 

A few other star players rumored to be changing teams this spring include Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado, Padres pitcher Dylan Cease, and Seattle veteran flamethrower Luis Castillo. Any one of these guys could instantly improve a team’s chances of making the postseason in October.

One change to keep in mind for the upcoming MLB season is something baseball purists aren’t too happy about.

Instant replay has hit the sports world in a big way over the past decade, and it is now slowly moving into baseball. While MLB is considering having a robotic umpire — that is, AI (artificial intelligence) calling balls and strikes — in the near future, thankfully that will not happen in 2025.

However, the ability to challenge a ball or strike call on the field can be disputed for the first time in MLB history. This new rule has been tested this spring. Of course, like all changes, it is getting mixed reviews already.

According to MLB.com, “In the ABS (automated ball-strike) challenge system, the human, home-plate umpire calls balls and strikes, per usual. But Hawk-Eye technology is running in the background, monitoring the exact location of the pitch relative to the batter’s strike zone. This allows players to ask for a challenge of a ball or strike call that they feel the umpire got wrong.” ABS figured in some 60% of spring training games this year during the Grapefruit and Cactus League seasons.

According to NPR, players will be able to challenge any call of a ball or strike. But that dispute can only come from the pitcher, catcher, or batter — and they must do so immediately after the umpire announces the call. So, unlike in American National League Football and the National Hockey League, coaches will not be able to initiate a review. So yelling from the dugout won’t help!

Once a call has been challenged, an automated replay system will determine exactly where a pitch was located when it crossed home plate, using a set of cameras placed around the ballpark. A computer-animated replay will play on the scoreboard to announce the outcome of the challenge. The whole process takes about 15 or 20 seconds.

I know, times are changing and modern technology is a great tool. However, disputing balls and strikes, unless it is just an egregiously horrible call by the umpire, takes away from the flow and purity of the game. At least it does in my humble opinion. Only time will tell by showing us all how this will play out.

So which teams are favored to make it to the 2025 World Series?

As baseball fans know, anything can happen once the season begins. However, according to most MLB experts and oddsmakers, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers are favored to retain the crown this year. And for good reason.

The Dodgers‘ remarkable roster resembles an All-Star team. When your lineup features Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman in the top three, it is hard to imagine Los Angeles not winning close to 100 games again in 2025.

The Dodgers are heavy favorites to win the National League pennant and return to the World Series this fall at +135. The Atlanta Braves (+550) trail just behind the Dodgers, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies (+600) and the New York Mets (+700). Rounding out the top five, the Chicago Cubs push in at +1,200.

In the American League, the New York Yankees are once again the team to beat. Last season the Yankees made it to the World Series but lost the quest for their astonishing 28th team title, falling to the Dodgers in five games.

The Yankees, you might recall, started their winning New York ways in 1923 with the likes of a fella called Babe Ruth, a future Hall-of-Famer in Lou Gehrig (who did not play), and colorful characters such as center fielder Whitey Witt matched against the likes of legendary “Casey at Bat” Casey Stengel for the crosstown New York Giants. Of course, Stengel is better known in a Yanks uniform; such is the Big Apple’s magnetic power in attracting the best of baseball.

But getting back to the 2025 version of the Bronx Bombers, despite losing Juan Soto, power hitter Gleyber Torres (who looks to rebound and possibly even tear his teeth into some good stats, at least offense-wise, with my hometown heroes, the Detroit Tigers), and relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle this offseason, New York is still the favorite to repeat as American League champions. Las Vegas oddsmakers have the Yankees listed at +300, or 3-1 odds.

The Baltimore Orioles (+600) will need to play catch-up to the Yanks, while the Houston Astros (+850), Texas Rangers, and Boston Red Sox (both of whom sit at +900) could hunt down some key victories.

The teams with the longest odds to make it to the World Series are the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins. Both are distantly listed at +20,000.

Now that Opening Day is upon us, one thing is certain: No matter what happens down the road in October, this season in MLB is sure to be a wild ride.