The Los Angeles Dodgers have been world champions for less than twelve hours, but they are already favored to be in exactly the same spot a year from now.

BetMGM announced their odds for the 2025 World Series champion on Thursday morning, and the Dodgers led the pack at +400 to win it all and become the first repeat World Series champions since the 2000 New York Yankees.

Behind the Dodgers is a familiar list of teams, many of which we’ve seen in the earlier rounds of this year’s playoffs. The Yankees are tied with the Atlanta Braves for second at +800, and the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies are third at +1100.

The Dodgers could be even better next year

As dominant as the Dodgers have looked this postseason, they entered October with a huge headwind in the form of injuries in their rotation. They defeated the San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Yankees, all 2025 contenders, with only three serviceable starting pitchers.

Things could all be a little different next season, barring a similar series of terrible injury misfortunes. While Game 1 starter Jack Flaherty and Game 3 starter Walker Buehler are both pending free agents, Yoshinobu Yamamoto returns, as does Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow and, most tantalizing of all, Shohei Ohtani’s pitching side.

That’s four spots in the rotation already solidified for the Dodgers, with the potential returns of Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller all waiting in the wings after the lost seasons of 2024. Clayton Kershaw also has a player option for 2025 and has his announced intention to return.

Any of the aforementioned players could see more injuries in 2025, but it’s hard not to see 2024 as a worst-case scenario where the Dodgers have more than survived. They lost more than a rotation of pitchers and still came away with a trophy, and now they could add even more pitchers to the mix this season.

What could the Dodgers do this season?

The Dodgers are already well prepared for 2025, but that doesn’t mean their offseason to-do list is empty.

In addition to the aforementioned starting pitching situation, Los Angeles’ free agents include outfielder Teoscar Hernández, top reliever Blake Treinen, trusted reliever Daniel Hudson, shortstop Miguel Rojas and utility man Kiké Hernández.

Re-signing the first Hernández will be the biggest priority unless the Dodgers think they can do better. It would be difficult to do that, as Hernández has been a consistent center who has started repeatedly, but earlier this week it was reported that the Dodgers were kicking the tires on an offer for the Yankees star. Juan Soto.

We don’t have to think too much about how outrageous it would be if the Dodgers signed Ohtani to a $700 million contract, won a World Series and then signed Soto to a similar mega-contract. But the possibility is there.

Meanwhile, Treinen and Hudson have both been key weapons for the Dodgers this season, but the team’s track record of finding top relievers out of nowhere limits the team’s chances of spending big on the bullpen this winter.

Shortstop will also be needed if Rojas and the other Hernández leave, although the possibility of parking Tommy Edman or Mookie Betts at that position means the Dodgers could look to infield help instead, depending on how the market evolves . Either way, they probably need a few more position players.

And then there’s Roki Sasaki.

Could the Dodgers sign Roki Sasaki?

Roki Sasaki is a 22-year-old Japanese right-hander who has emerged in recent years as one of the most tantalizing pitchers in baseball history. He regularly throws 100 mph, he has two devastating secondary pitches, and he threw a perfect 19-strikeout game in 2022.

Sasaki could very well be moved to the MLB this offseason, although that is not certain. His team, the Chiba Lotte Marines, wouldn’t want him to do that, so it would come down to whether he could gain enough influence to force a placement. If he gets drafted, every baseball team will be interested. After all, how often can you land a potential superstar pitcher who doesn’t actually have to pay you for six years?

Being under 25 years old, Sasaki would be subject to international bonus pools as a free agent, rather than having a mega-contract like Yamamoto’s final offseason. It’s the same thing Ohtani did before the 2018 season, when every interested team had to tell the player why they were the best situation for him, with no money as incentive.

The Dodgers are normally in for a financial battle, but beyond that they still have a lot to offer Sasaki. They already have two Japanese stars in Ohtani and Yamamoto to aid the transition and take the pressure off Sasaki, who has the largest Japanese population of any MLB market and a huge cultural cachet in his home country.

And now they can promise not only a perennial contender, but a World Series champion team. The Dodgers have long projected themselves as top contenders, if not favorites, should Sasaki be drafted, but they could be particularly well-positioned this season.