3 reasons why Dodgers won’t win 2026 World Series

The Los Angeles Dodgers won a second consecutive World Series in 2025 and they are the favorite to earn a championship once again heading into 2026. LA only strengthened the roster this past offseason by signing Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz. However, is there any chance that the Dodgers will fall short of a third consecutive championship and fourth World Series title of the decade in 2026?

Here are three reasons why the Dodgers won’t win the Fall Classic in 2026.

Dodgers’ pitching questions

LA’s roster is about as close to perfect as it gets. With that said, the pitching does have some questions.

Beginning with the rotation, LA knows what it is getting in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow. Blake Snell’s season is expected to be delayed due to an injury concern, though. Meanwhile, Emmet Sheehan is still looking to prove himself at the MLB level while Roki Sasaki has had a difficult spring training.

Depth is not a problem given the presence of guys such as Gavin Stone and Just Wrobleski on the roster, but the Dodgers’ starting pitching is not as dominant as some may be led to believe.

The bullpen was a question mark last year. Los Angeles addressed it by signing Diaz. The move gave the Dodgers one of the best closers in MLB.

Still, the relief core is far from a perfect one. Tanner Scott endured a challenging overall 2025 campaign. Blake Treinen struggled in his 32 games pitched last year. A number of the team’s relievers will need to bounce back alongside Diaz in 2026.

Competition in the National League

The National League got stronger this past offseason. Reaching the ’26 Fall Classic isn’t going to be a simple task for the Dodgers.

In the National League East, the New York Mets acquired players such as Freddy Peralta, Bo Bichette and Luis Robert Jr. The Philadelphia Phillies will return a similar roster to their 2025 contending squad, and the Atlanta Braves may be able to rebound after a forgettable 2025 season.

In the NL Central, the Chicago Cubs added Alex Bregman to their core of players. They also acquired Edward Cabrera in a move to strengthen the pitching staff. Of course, the Milwaukee Brewers can never be counted out. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds both improved their rosters as well.

LA’s NL West opponents will also provide a challenge. The San Diego Padres still have a talented roster, while the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks are hoping to return to the postseason.

There are plenty of contenders in the NL. The Dodgers will understandably remain confident, but the thought of one of the aforementioned squads upsetting them in a postseason series is realistic. The Cubs, Mets, Phillies, Brewers and Padres are probably the biggest threats to upset them.

Anything can happen in October

This is baseball we are talking about. Anything can happen in October.

The 2019 Washington Nationals shocked the MLB world by winning the World Series. More recently, the Dodgers were upset in the postseason in back-to-back years by the Diamondbacks and Padres in 2022 and 2023.

All if requires is one pitcher locking in for two outings. Or a hitter or two catching fire at the right moment. Perhaps a Dodgers’ starter ends up having a bad series.

The point of this article isn’t to make the Dodgers look bad, however. It’s simply to point out the fact that they are not a perfect team, there is no shortage of talent in the National League and anything can happen in playoff baseball.

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