LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 17: Shohei Ohtani #17 of the Los Angeles Dodgers holds the MVP trophy during a ceremony following game four of the National League Championship Series where the Dodgers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 at Dodger Stadium on October 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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There is not a lot in common between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays.
East vs West. America vs Canada. They don’t even share the same shade of blue.
The playing style and roster construction also have their differences. But the one similarity they have is the ability to represent their league in the 2025 World Series.
Here is how their differences separated them from the rest of the league, and why it could sway the 2026 season and beyond.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers are looking for their ninth World Series title and to become just the 15th back-to-back champion in MLB history.
After an offseason where Los Angeles added names like Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell, and Michael Conforto, it was clear that the Dodgers had back-to-back expectations.
The preseason conversations around LA were not just limited to whether this team could win the World Series again. Instead, the conversation was around the Dodgers breaking the single-season wins record.
After winning 98 games in 2024, the only weakness of the team was its starting pitching. This was due mostly to injury, as they only had two starters make over 20 starts.
While injuries still played a factor in their rotation, only allowing Snell and Sasaki to start 19 combined games in the regular season, the unpredictability of baseball caused the best team on paper to win five fewer games than the season prior.
Whether it was Mookie Betts having a career-low year offensively as the everyday shortstop, or the Dodgers’ closer Tanner Scott blowing 10 saves compared to executing 23, the Dodgers still faced the everyday battles of a 162-game schedule, despite the overall talent of their roster.
Any issues that presented themselves in the regular season seemed to be erased come October, as the stars have been out in Hollywood.
The 2025 NLCS MVP went to arguably the team’s worst hitter entering Game Four, before Shohei Ohtani completed one of the best games in MLB history.
Ohtani’s three home runs at the plate, paired with six scoreless innings pitched, warranted the trophy and improved his OPS in the postseason to a team-leading .967 OPS.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 20: Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting a double during the 8th inning of Game Six of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium on October 20, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
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Teoscar Hernandez and Betts both sport an OPS above .800 as well, but the pitching has been the path to the World Series thus far.
As a staff, the Dodgers starters have a 1.40 ERA in 64.1 innings. This dominance on the mound was highlighted in the NLCS, as they held the Brewers to just a .118 team batting average and 4 total runs in the series.
This investment in the pitching staff, paying Tyler Glasnow, Snell, and Ohtani over $25 million each this year, has been the catalyst for their success this postseason. And it will be needed, as they face the best playoff offense in the World Series.
Offensively, the Dodgers have valuable pieces at the bottom of the order like Kike Hernandez and Tommy Edman. But when the three-headed monster is being pitched around at the top of the order, the offensive flaws of the 4-9 batters can be carefully exploited.
Unless the Dodgers’ pitching staff can continue their impressive execution, this lack of lineup balance can not be said about their soon-to-be opponent.
Toronto Blue Jays
Unlike the return to glory the Dodgers are attempting, the Blue Jays ended a 32-year World Series appearance drought after taking Game 7 of the ALCS from the Seattle Mariners.
Also, unlike the Dodgers, the Blue Jays did not have nearly as lofty of expectations heading into 2025.
After the team significantly regressed in 2024, there were questions surrounding General Manager Ross Atkins and Manager John Schneider.
Heading into the last year of arbitration for Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette, there was speculation over whether it was time for a new core in Toronto.
Instead, Atkins stood behind his franchise’s centerpiece, signing Guerrero to a 14-year, $500 million extension. Bichette, who lost a majority of the year due to injury, will be a question for this offseason.
Along with the extension of Guerrero, the Blue Jays also added pieces to outfielder Anthony Santander, closer Jeff Hoffman, and starting pitcher Max Scherzer.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 15: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 of the Toronto Blue Jays rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the fifth inning against the Seattle Mariners in game three of the American League Championship Series at T-Mobile Park on October 15, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
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They sought to stay competitive in the AL East, which at one point seemed to be an empty goal when the Yankees took an 8-game lead in May.
From that point, the Blue Jays went 67-40 for the rest of the year, surpassing New York in the regular season and in the ALDS.
The Blue Jays became one of the most consistent teams in baseball by highlighting the lost skill of consistent hitting.
In the year, the Blue Jays led baseball in batting average, with a team average of .265. This may not seem notable, however, when you compare the Blue Jays’ lineup with the .245 league average in 2025, Toronto had seven players finish the year above that mark.
This, paired with the 2nd-best strikeout rate in baseball, made them an offense destined for success in the postseason.
So, with a team batting average of .296 and 6.5 runs per game, compared to the Dodgers’ .256 and 4.6, the Blue Jays will look to make these games higher-scoring.
This will especially be true to help the Blue Jays’ pitching staff, which has not fared as strongly in the playoffs.
As a team, Toronto has a 4.36 ERA in the playoffs, brought down mostly by their bullpen ERA of 5.52.
They will need length from starters like Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage early in the series, allowing their top bullpen options like Louis Varland, Jeff Hoffman, and Seranthony Dominguez to only be used when necessary.
What could this mean for 2026?
A majority of these teams’ differences come from how these teams are permitted to create a roster. The Dodgers finished 2025 as the top-payroll team in baseball.
Toronto, not a small market team by any means, finished in seventh place. While they trailed the Dodgers’ team payroll by nearly $100 million just this year alone, the Blue Jays are not a team that cannot spend money on free agents.
Their issue is that the team usually has to overspend on talent because of where they play.
The combination of higher income tax and having to travel over the border for every road trip is sometimes the deciding factor between two teams offering the same paycheck and ability to win.
While the 2025 postseason has showcased a roster of players who have embraced Toronto, and this run will certainly entice more players to consider playing in Canada, the roster construction had to work with the resources at its disposal.
The acquisition of players like Ernie Clement, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Daulton Varsho was key to the Blue Jays’ success this year. These players may not be on Major League rosters, let alone starting playoff games, if they were evaluated by standard hitting metrics.
Instead, their ability to put the ball in play and hit for contact adds to the difficulty of their lineup, and has been done cost-effectively.
The Dodgers clearly have depth as well, but this is due to their General Manager Brandon Gomes’ aggressiveness in free agency and the team’s ability to develop talent.
This combination creates a logjam of talent within their system, making it difficult for the team to cut players from their postseason roster.
Simply put, the Dodgers are doing what the majority of MLB has been trying to do. The Dodgers are just the best at it.
If the Blue Jays’ strategy proves to be enough to take down the Dodgers, it could cause a change in philosophy on how to construct a lineup.
The “three true outcomes” (walks, strikeouts, and homeruns) players may become increasingly rare, and instead just an aspect of a team’s lineup instead of every batter.
But if the Dodgers complete the season promised in March, it may be deemed that superstars are what you need to win a World Series.