Can Your Favorite Team Win the World Series in 2026?

The question is simple: Can your favorite baseball team win the World Series this fall?

I am going to go down the list of every team and give my expert opinion on whether your franchise can win the title, given their current roster.

I am not countering in hypothetical trades or whatnot. The Chicago Cubs could pull off a blockbuster trade for Tarik Skubal, but I won’t be factoring that into my thinking. There are a slew of teams that, if they could swing a miracle trade, would flip from an impossibility to a puncher’s chance.

Without further ado, the AL East.

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AL East

Tampa Bay Rays (36-20): Yes. The Rays know how to grind out playoff series, and even if they’d be underdogs in a theoretical World Series, Tampa Bay can win it all.

New York Yankees (36-23): Yes. If this ever became a “no,” then the entire Yankees front office should be fired.

Toronto Blue Jays (29-31): Yes. The 2025 World Series team is still there, albeit bandaged, wrapped up, and unperforming so far in 2026. I expect them to make a legitimate playoff push come the second half.

Baltimore Orioles (28-32): No. The division is too tough, and the pitching just isn’t strong enough right now to contend for a title.

Boston Red Sox (25-33): No. Too injured and far too little depth on offense.

AL Central

Cleveland Guardians (34-27): Yes. They have a pitching factory up in Cleveland, and while they won’t destroy teams with their offense, there are enough positive hitters that winning the pennant is a real possibility.

Chicago White Sox (32-27): No. The White Sox are the most fun team in baseball and could definitely make the playoffs, but they still feel like they’re a few years away from being a true contender. Chicago should focus on extending Munetaka Murakami over anything else this season.

Minnesota Twins (27-33): No. Simply not talented enough. Sorry, Minnesota sports fans.

Kansas City Royals (22-37): No. Bobby Witt Jr. might win American League MVP on a team that is out of the playoffs by the All-Star Game.

Detroit Tigers (22-38): No. Tigers fans’ World Series this season is seeing what they get in their trade package for Tarik Skubal. Hopefully, they don’t lose that one.

AL West

Seattle Mariners (31-29): Yes. While I am not thrilled with the team’s offense and Cal Raleigh’s massive regression, pitching is paramount come the playoffs, and Seattle has that in spades.

Athletes (28-31): No. A good team is forming in Sacramento, but unfortunately for those fans, they probably won’t be contenders and spending big until they’re settled in Las Vegas.

Texas Rangers (28-31): No. The Texas Rangers World Series win three years ago might very well go down as one of the strangest one-off title runs in MLB history.

Houston Astros (27-34): No. Houston isn’t as bad as their record shows, yet the team’s abysmal pitching makes it an easy “no” even if they somehow pull themselves out of a giant hole in a winnable division.

Los Angeles Angels (23-37): No. I don’t have any optimistic words for you, Angels fans. Good luck next year.

NL East

Atlanta Braves (40-20): Yes. The best record currently in baseball, the Braves are one of the few true threats to the Los Angeles Dodgers and their quest for a three-peat. While I’m not completely sold on their pitching, they have a well-balanced lineup with a few game-changing players.

Washington Nations (31-29): No. The Nationals are extremely fun to watch and lead everyone in the Majors with the most runs scored. But they have also given up the most runs in baseball as well. In the playoffs, if they make it there, that is a recipe for a quick exit.

Philadelphia Phillies (30-29): Yes. The opposite of the Nationals. Their offense can be hot and cold, but when you can deploy Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler in back-to-back games, you have a chance to win the World Series.

New York Mets (26-33): No. Juan Soto is having a great season. That’s the end of my positives for this team.

Miami Marlins (26-34): No. The Marlins aren’t good, but they play hard and punch well above their weight, given how little the ownership invests in them.

NL Central

Milwaukee Brewers (35-21): Yes. The Brewers might find themselves in a similar situation to last year, where their lack of pop and explosiveness offensively could be their undoing, but we saw how well the Blue Jays did with their contact-first style approach, even against the Dodgers. Milwaukee is going to be a contender come the playoffs.

Chicago Cubs (32-27): No. This is one of the toughest calls for all the teams. Right now, however, I can’t call them a true World Series contender with that broken-down rotation.

St. Louis Cardinals (30-26): No. Although it’d still surprise me if they made the playoffs, the Cardinals are about 800 million times more entertaining to watch than I thought heading into the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates (32-28): No. Pirates fans might be more excited about making the playoffs this season than Dodgers fans if they pull off the historic three-peat.

Cincinnati Reds (32-30): No. The Reds are scrappy and can take games off anyone in baseball, but they’re still lagging behind the rest of the league when it comes to true game-changing positional players aside from Elly De La Cruz.

NL West

Los Angeles Dodgers (38-21): Yes. As expected, the back-to-back champs are really good, even with a multitude of injuries to their rotation and $60 million man Kyle Tucker having a slow start to his tenure in Hollywood. If Andy Pages and Max Muncy continue the forms they’re in right now, though, for the rest of the season and including the playoffs, it’s going to take a near miracle to eliminate this team in a best-of series.

San Diego Padres (32-26): No. I still truly believe in the team’s lineup, even with Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Jackson Merill all struggling mightily. What I don’t believe in is their razor-thin rotation of starting pitchers. If they could clone Mason Miller five times, then I’d flip my answer.

Arizona Diamondbacks (31-27): Yes. I weirdly believe in the Diamondbacks? If Corbin Burnes comes back after the All-Star Game and is Corbin Burnes, then they get a legitimate ace to help out a weak starting rotation and provide help for an explosive lineup. They’re a long shot, but I don’t think it’s impossible.

San Francisco Giants (23-36): No. The Giants thought they’d be challenging the Dodgers when they traded for Rafael Devers this time last season. Instead, they’re fighting with the Colorado Rockies to see who will be the worst team in the National League.

Colorado Rockies (22-38): No. The Rockies are 18th in attendance in MLB, averaging 26,133. Every team below them should be ashamed.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 7:45 PM.