MLB 2026 Showdown: Which Dark Horse Teams Could Shatter the Dodgers’ Quest for a Historic Three-Peat?

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But the window isn’t closed yet. If the Phillies are healthy in October – a bigger “if” than most teams – they can still roll out a pair of aces in Wheeler and Cristopher Sanchez, with Aaron Nola and Jesus Luzardo as backups.

Another question: Is the bullpen good enough as currently constructed? Or will midseason reinforcements be needed. Just a lot of moving parts and concerns.

Kazuma Okamoto, a free agent from Japan, brings a lot of power at third base. He wasted little time showing that off, popping a 431-foot homer in Toronto’s third spring game.

Can righty Edward Cabrera shine in a new environment? He’s always had swing-and-miss stuff, but he found the strike zone much more regularly for the Miami Marlins last year, cutting his walks per nine innings to 3.1 from his average of 5.1 entering the season.

Here’s maybe the biggest question as opening day approaches: How much of that World Series magic against the Dodgers carries over into the 2026 regular season?

Adding an established power bat in veteran Pete Alonso might go down as one of the best additions for any team this offseason. Alonso is an intense competitor who can take the production pressure off others in the lineup. That’s what an average of 40 homers with a 135 OPS+ can do for an offense.

Injuries happen. Slumps happen. A big part of the World Series equation is when injuries and slumps happen.

Having Taylor Ward, who quietly put up 36 homers in Los Angeles Angels obscurity, will help, too. Plus, shortstop Gunnar Henderson and catcher/DH Adley Rutschman will be motivated to show their subpar 2025 seasons are not their new normals.

The more successful of the two baseball franchises in Los Angeles — the one that actually embraces winning as a priority — has captured two World Series titles in a row, added outfielder Kyle Tucker and closer Edwin Diaz in the offseason, and not lost any significant pieces for their 2026 equation. The retired Clayton Kershaw will be missed, of course, but the club had been planning contingencies for that eventuality for at least a couple years now. They have rotation options – plural.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: The Mariners have the type of pitching that can win a World Series. That’s maybe even more true than in previous years, what with last year’s arrival of Bryan Woo (15-7, 2.94 ERA in 30 starts) as an All-Star and Cy Young candidate, along with Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and George Kirby in the rotation, with Bryce Miller and Emerson Hancock as rotation options.

Alright, so here we are again — the Los Angeles Dodgers, perched atop the baseball world, eyeing that elusive three-peat in the World Series. Sure, they clinched back-to-back titles, but let’s not kid ourselves, it wasn’t a walk in the park. Injuries, slumps, and nail-biting moments—the Dodgers have had their share of drama. With a jaw-dropping 5 million payroll and a star-studded roster led by none other than Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers seem primed for greatness. But here’s the million-dollar question: Can this juggernaut overcome the rising storm? Seven MLB teams are gearing up to turn up the heat in 2026, ready to scramble the Dodgers’ championship plans and maybe snag that crown for themselves. Think the Dodgers’ dynasty is untouchable? Think again. Let’s dive into who might just rewrite October history. LEARN MORE.

Can Bregman help Pete Crow-Armstrong avoid last year’s second-half nosedive? PCA had 25 homers, 27 stolen bases and an .847 OPS by the All-Star break, but just six homers, eight stolen bases and a .634 OPS after it.

Toronto Blue Jays

Seiya Suzuki could be a dark-horse NL MVP candidate.

The Dodgers were not fully healthy often last year, which was reflected in their overall W/L record, but they were healthy in October, and they rolled through the National League side of the playoff bracket before being pushed to the limit by the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. They needed a stunning solo home run by 36-year-old, light-hitting infielder Miguel Rojas in the ninth inning to push Game 7 to extra innings, where the won 5-4 in 11.

McLean, a third-round draft pick in 2023, has good fastball velocity (as does everybody these days), but that sweeper he throws in the mid-80s has elite spin and a ton of glove-side movement, which naturally leads to a high swing-and-miss rate. He posted a tiny 2.08 ERA in his eight MLB starts last year.

Not to keep beating the same drum, but it’s all about October health for these Yankees. If they’re running out a playoff rotation of Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler and Carlos Rodon, then, yeah, they’re legit World Series contenders, but Cole and Rodon are working their way back from surgeries (Cole had Tommy John, Rodon had a less-invasive elbow procedure). In the meantime, Ryan Weathers could be a breakout rotation star.

And if the long-awaited arrival of top prospect Andrew Painter goes according to plan, the Fightins’ should be a tough October out with their lineup having playoff-tested bats.

Yes, the Dodgers have an incredible roster, led by a four-time MLB MVP in Shohei Ohtani. Yes, they have the most highly paid talent of any franchise. Yes, they are the team most likely to make an impact trade should one of their stars get hurt during the season.

The Blue Jays tied with the New York Yankees for the most wins in the AL last year (94) and came within a few outs of winning the World Series, then had a solid offseason, though they missed out on Tucker when the Dodgers did what needed to be done to sign the lefty slugger.

Seattle Mariners

A team that struck out too much last year added a contact-first bat in Brendan Donovan, who can set the table at or near the top of the lineup and play all over the field as injury issues arise.

The post MLB 2026: Contenders That Could Keep the Dodgers From a World Series Three-Peat appeared first on Opta Analyst.

Was Yesavage, who threw a bunch of dominating playoff innings after only three major-league starts in the regular season, signaling his arrival as a legitimate perennial Cy Young candidate? He sure looked the part, with 39 strikeouts and only 18 hits allowed in 27.2 October innings. Or will he deal with the same ups and downs as most rookie pitchers?

What’s the point? Basically, stuff happens. That’s why they play the games. There’s a lot of baseball left. All the cliches.

The rest of the NL is kind of a toss-up after the Dodgers, and the Cubs should be right in the heart of that mix, especially if second-year starter Cade Horton picks up where he left off after his stellar second half last year, and if Justin Steele returns to a higher level, including a 2023 All-Star season, before he was limited to just four starts by an elbow injury last year.

Chicago Cubs

But here’s a fun fact amid all the talk about the Dodgers being a dynasty and their jaw-dropping 2026 payroll (and, folks, at 5 million, it is incredible): Last year, the Dodgers finished fifth among the 30 MLB teams in regular season wins with 93.

Did Addison Bargar really figure something out in the postseason, when he posted an insane 1.025 OPS after turning in a respectful-but-not-amazing .756 OPS in the regular season? Similarly, is Ernie Clement, who batted .411 with a .977 OPS in the playoffs, the next AL batting average champ, or will he revert back to form (career .260 average, .671 OPS) in 2026?

Let’s take a look at seven contenders that can prevent a Dodgers’ World Series three-peat.

The thing is, the offense is better than recent years. Cal Raleigh is coming off his incredible season, and while he’s not likely to hit 60 home runs again, he’s the most legitimate and consistent AL power threat this side of Judge.

Alex Bregman is obviously a huge pickup offensively. He’s not going to repeat his prime years, where he was a 7-8 WAR player, but he’s an additional veteran bat in the heart of the lineup and in the clubhouse.

New York Yankees

The Mets could make the postseason without the duo – there are a lot of big salaries and name players on that roster – but if the question is who can unseat the Dodgers in October, the Mets will need their dynamic duo pitching to their potential.

Truth is, for all the big salaries and name players on this roster, the Mets’ ceiling probably will be determined by young starters Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. They’re the type of difference-making young arms who could do for the Mets what Yesavage did for the Blue Jays last October, though both McLean and Tong should see much more action in the regular season.

Julio Rodriguez is entering his age-25 season. As crazy as it sounds to say this about a guy who has three top-seven finishes in the AL MVP voting in his first four years in the major leagues, he’s primed to finally have that breakthrough season.

New York Mets

They brought back Josh Naylor, who made a big impact after he arrived in a midseason trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Jays added Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to the rotation, which should be formidable with a full season of rookie Trey Yesavage and the eventual return of Shane Bieber. Plus, Tyler Rogers is a big addition to the back of the bullpen.

Let’s throw the O’s in as a dark-horse candidate. Last year was a rudderless disaster of injuries and underachievement after back-to-back playoff appearances, but there’s still a lot of talent on this roster.

Is Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., who had a solid .848 OPS regular season but did his best David Ortiz impression with a 1.289 playoff OPS, going to threaten Aaron Judge in the race for AL MVP?

Philadelphia Phillies

You don’t have to squint hard to see the Phillies’ window with their current crop of stars starting to close. Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler are all in their age-33 season or older, and their biggest offensive addition this offseason, Adolis Garcia, will turn 33 on March 2 and had a .278 on-base percentage and 96 OPS+ over the past two seasons.

On the pitching side, Trevor Rogers emerged as a potential Cy Young candidate for 2026 after posting a 1.81 ERA in 18 starts last year.

Frustrated, probably. Annoyed, maybe (OK, definitely). But not surprised.

Baltimore Orioles

You know this. You are not surprised by this.

Chris Bassitt was an outstanding free-agent signing for the rotation, and trade addition Shane Baz finally had his first full healthy season in the bigs last year for the Tampa Bay Rays. The former elite prospect – he was ranked as high as the No. 8 prospect in all of baseball by multiple outlets – is entering his age-27 season and appears primed to live up to those past projections.

Sure, the Los Angeles repeated as World Series champions last year, but there were hurdles along the way. Here are seven MLB teams that just may raise the bar even higher in 2026 to keep the Dodgers from a rare three-peat. 

Speaking of health issues: Will Giancarlo Stanton be available in October? That’s a useful home run bat to have in a playoff lineup that’s anchored by Judge?

But there are plenty of other franchises that have put themselves to compete with – and beat –the Dodgers in October, whether they’re fully healthy or not.

The preseason World Series odds favor the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tong’s MLB debut wasn’t quite as impressive, though he struck out 22 batters in 18.2 innings. In his 22 starts in the minors (20 in Double-A, two in Triple-A), the righty with a dramatic curveball fashioned a 1.43 ERA with a jaw-dropping 179 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings.