Ranking all 16 potential World Series matchups: Yankees vs. Cubs would be historic, but it’s not No. 1

The 2025 MLB postseason is underway and the Wild Card Series round is already complete. Three of the four Wild Card Series went the full three games, and three of the four home teams won the series as well. From 2022-24, only four home teams won the Wild Card Series. The best-of-five Division Series gets underway this weekend. Here are the matchups:  

There are eight teams still standing, which equals 16 possible World Series matchups, including a rematch of last year’s World Series (Dodgers vs. Yankees). There has not been a World Series rematch since Dodgers vs. Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Anyway, there are 16 possible postseason matchups and none of them are bad! Each and every one is exciting in its own way, but some are more compelling than others. Sometimes there’s history (recent or otherwise), sometimes new players have joined the mix, so on and so forth.

With that in mind, we are here to rank all 16 possible World Series matchups. What are these rankings based on, exactly? History, watchability, vibes, etc. No need to get scientific. Here now are our 2025 World Series matchup rankings.

The bottom two

16. Brewers vs. Tigers
15. Cubs vs. Tigers

Not a ton of shared history here. The Curse of the Billy Goat (remember that?) started when the Cubs and Tigers met in the 1945 World Series, and that’s about all there is connecting those two franchises. The Brewers and Tigers were AL East rivals from 1972-93, though there weren’t any real classic battles there. The Tigers signing Prince Fielder away from the Brewers is about as far as that rivalry goes. I will note Cubs vs. Tigers regular-season series can get pretty intense. Those two fan bases travel well and don’t have to travel far.

The next six

14. Phillies vs. Tigers
13. Blue Jays vs. Brewers
12. Brewers vs. Yankees
11. Cubs vs. Mariners
10. Dodgers vs. Tigers
9. Blue Jays vs. Dodgers

Blue Jays vs. Brewers would be the Paul Molitor series. There are some really great matchups in here and this is where I again remind you there is no such thing as a bad World Series matchup. It’s just that some are more interesting than others. Cubs vs. Mariners would have been a great one had Chicago not ended its World Series drought in 2016. I may be underrating Blue Jays vs. Dodgers here. The Blue Jays are an entertaining team and the Dodgers are the Dodgers.

Notable World Series rematches

8. Yankees vs. Phillies
These two franchises have been around forever, though they’ve only met in the World Series twice: 1950 and 2009. That 2009 World Series was New York’s last title. Hideki Matsui was MVP, Chase Utley tied a World Series record with five home runs, and the Yankees won their 27th championship. Bryce Harper vs. Aaron Judge would be the good stuff.

7. Blue Jays vs. Phillies
If we get this matchup in a few weeks, the broadcast would show Joe Carter’s walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series no fewer than 10,000 times during the however many games. 

An iconic home run, no doubt, but don’t forget the Blue Jays and Phillies played the highest scoring game in World Series history earlier in the series. That was a 15-14 Blue Jays win in Game 4. A Blue Jays vs. Phillies World Series matchup this year might be an all-time great crowd series. Two lively and at times chaotic fan bases. That makes for good television.

6. Dodgers vs. Yankees
The Yankees and Dodgers have met 12 times in the World Series, including last year. We did get Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam in Game 1, and the Yankees kicking the ball around like Little Leaguers in Game 5, otherwise it is a fairly uneventful series. A rematch would be a blast, don’t get me wrong. A potential Dodgers vs. Yankees World Series did lose a little steam just because we saw it last year.

The first-time champs

5. Brewers vs Mariners
The Brewers and Mariners are two of five teams without a World Series title (Padres, Rays, and Rockies are the others) and one of those droughts would be guaranteed to end should they meet up in the Fall Classic. Milwaukee had the best record in baseball during the regular season and the Mariners might be the most dangerous team in a short postseason series standing given their sneaky-great offense and deep pitching staff loaded with power arms. The storyline is, well, the story here: One of these teams would win their first ever World Series and the other would fall short of doing the same.

The top four

4. Blue Jays vs. Cubs
Two very similar offenses. They both had one of the six lowest team strikeout rates during the regular seasons (Toronto’s was the lowest) while also ranking top 11 in home runs. It’s contact and power, and injuries have created enough questions in the two rotations that this could be a real barn burner of a World Series, especially if the wind manages to blow out at Wrigley Field in late October. Pete Crow-Armstrong vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., two emotional players who aren’t afraid to show it, would be delightful.

3. Yankees vs. Cubs
If you include the 2018 All-Star Game at Nationals Park, Judge has hit a home run at every current ballpark except Wrigley Field. That is not the basis for this ranking, just a fun fact. Babe Ruth’s called shot came against the Cubs in the 1932 World Series, which is some fun history. The 2025 teams bring plenty of power and some of the game’s most entertaining players, and any time you have two historic franchises with dedicated fan bases like this, the atmospheres promise to be electric.

2. Mariners vs. Phillies
Two dynamic rotations, the top two home run hitters in the sport (Cal Raleigh’s 60 and Kyle Schwarber’s 56), a starved fan base in Seattle, and a raucous following in Philadelphia. Then you have Julio Rodríguez’s electric all-around game, Harper’s flair for the dramatic, Trea Turner, Eugenio Suárez, Jhoan Duran and Andrés Muñoz throwing grenades in the ninth inning, on and one we could go. There’s a case for Mariners vs. Phillies belonging in the No. 1 spot, for sure.

1. Dodgers vs. Mariners
Almost everything about the Mariners vs. Phillies matchup applies to Dodgers vs. Mariners. It’s two dynamic rotations. It’s Raleigh and Shohei Ohtani’s 55 home runs. Julio and Mookie Betts. You also have the Mariners trying to win their first World Series title ever and the Dodgers trying to become the first team to repeat as champions since the 1998-2000 Yankees. Storylines and great players abound. Two excellent ballparks too. Dodger Stadium is a gorgeous place to watch a ballgame and so too is T-Mobile Park. Between the players, the storylines, and the scenery, this is the best potential World Series matchup available to us in 2025.