The Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series and won their first ever championship in 2023. Texas overcame the odds and won it all, despite not being favored by many. Corey Seager led the charge for the Rangers and with the win, only five ringless teams remain in MLB. Only the Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres remain without a championship, per Daniel Kremer of MLB.com.
So which of these teams is in the best position to win their first World Series following Texas' victory? Today, we will be predicting which of these franchises will finally earn a championship next.
The next team to win their first World Series will be…
Unfortunately for the Rockies, they are stuck in a rebuild that doesn't have much light at the end of the tunnel right now. Their franchise has made a number of head-scratching moves since trading Nolan Arenado and Colorado likely won't seriously compete for years to come.
That leaves the Brewers, Mariners, Rays, and Padres. You could make a realistic case for each of these teams.
Seattle and San Diego both reached the postseason in 2022. The Mariners broke a long playoff drought with the postseason berth and despite falling just short of another appearance in 2023, their future is still bright. San Diego also missed the playoffs in 2023 but they reached the NLCS in 2022. It was a down year for the Padres this past season, but their impressive core remains mostly intact.
The Brewers and Rays both made the postseason in 2023. Both Milwaukee and Tampa Bay have been fairly consistent contenders in recent years. Yet, they both continue to struggle in October.
In order to predict which team will win the World Series next out of these four squads (sorry Rockies), we evaluated their core stars and prospect capital. Some teams with better farm systems obviously will have a better chance of competing in the long-term future. But there is one team's current roster that stands out above the rest.
The Padres are next up
San Diego has reached the World Series multiple times but they don't have anything to show for it. It isn't as if they are a recent expansion team either, as the Padres were founded in 1969.
The results in the postseason just haven't been all that productive for this franchise.
As aforementioned, San Diego reached the NLCS in 2022 but were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies. They last made a World Series appearance in 1998 but lost to the New York Yankees.
Fans of the Rays and Brewers will question how San Diego is our pick to win the World Series next. After all, the Padres didn't even reach the playoffs in 2023 and are searching for a new manager. Additionally, Juan Soto has been mentioned in trade rumors.
San Diego features some interesting young talent in the farm system despite trading many key prospects away in recent years to acquire stars like Juan Soto. In the end, our reasoning for the San Diego prediction all comes down to the team's core. The Padres feature the potential to be the best team in MLB.
In similar fashion to the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving-led Brooklyn Nets of the NBA though, the question is whether they can come together and find a way to win.
San Diego's star-studded core
*All contract information provided via Spotrac.
Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts headline the Padres' core of stars. Each one of these players is locked into long-term deals. Soto is obviously an important member of the group as well, but his future with the Padres is in question given his looming free agency after the 2024 campaign.
Signing him to a contract extension would alleviate those concerns though.
Pitching wise, Joe Musgrove is signed to a long-term deal as well and will continue to lead the rotation. Musgrove dealt with an injury-plagued 2023 season but he still projects to play a pivotal role in San Diego's future.
Yu Darvish and Michael Wacha are other pitchers to keep tabs on for years to come. Darvish will remain under contract while Wacha has a club option.
The bullpen is solid as well. There are some question marks but for the most part San Diego's relief core is capable of performing well.
Now, we obviously failed to mention two key free agents in SP Blake Snell and CP Josh Hader. Finding a way to re-sign both stars is going to be extremely difficult. In fact, even bringing one of them back will be a challenge.
Snell is probably going to win the NL Cy Young while Hader is one of the best relievers in baseball. Both pitchers are in line for massive paydays. However, the Padres will surely attempt to replace them at the very least, if they don't bring them back.
And we aren't saying the Padres will necessarily win the 2024 World Series. This prediction purely suggests that San Diego will win a championship before the Mariners, Rays, Brewers, and Rockies. It could be 2024, or it could take a few years. Either way, San Diego is up next.
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