When the Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series, that left us with only five franchises that have never won a World Series. Let’s take a look at those five teams and predict who wins it all first, ranking them by likelihood.
Seattle Mariners
It’s important to note that I’m not saying that any of these teams are going to win the World Series this year. The Seattle Mariners are not going to win the World Series this year. In fact, the Mariners missed the playoffs last year and they only got worse in preparation for this season, trading away a few regular players for future pieces (like trading Jarred Kelenic to the Braves for two pitchers…who both need Tommy John surgery now.)
But if there’s one thing General Manager Justin Hollander likes to do, it’s make trades. He’s not afraid to trade key guys or make deadline deals, like trading away closer Paul Sewald to Arizona last August. Or trade away Kellenic or starting third baseman Eugenio Suárez, (who played all 162 games last year!). He’s like the rest of us when we play MLB: The Show. Trades, trades, trades.
They already have some top-tier talent in Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford, and, according to some people, George Kirby. Keep these guys here, keep them happy, and make the moves around them. They’ve already locked up J-Rod. What’s next?
Active players in MLB’s Top 100 Players Right Now: 5 – CF Julio Rodríguez (10), SP Luis Castillo (54), SS J.P. Crawford (69), SP George Kirby (75), C Cal Raleigh (93)
Prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100: 3 – SS/2B Cole Young (37), C Harry Ford (38), SS/2B Colt Emerson (87)
Tampa Bay Rays
Listen, I’m a Rays hater. And no, it’s not just because my beloved Red Sox and local Orioles have to play them a (seemingly) billion times a year and I’m sick of seeing them. It’s because I’m sick of not knowing anybody on their team despite seeing them a billion times every year.
I know this has become to fashionable thing to say. Who are these guys?! Where do these guys come from?! How did they turn Zack Littell into a bonafide starter?! I get it, I say it myself. And that’s because what they’ve done is dumbfounding. They’ve supercharged Moneyball, turning their measly payroll into a 100-game winner almost every season.
But I just don’t think that a team of AAAA guys can win in the postseason.
Think about some of the stacked World Series rosters of the last few years: 2018 Red Sox, 2019 Nationals, 2020 Dodgers, 2021 Braves, 2022 Astros, 2023 Rangers.
The Rays just don’t look like that. And, to be honest, they never will. All they can do right now is play spoiler in the regular season and then fade into obscurity come the playoffs. Based on their regular season performance, they should be at the top of this list. But nobody cares about the way Pete Fairbanks pitched on July 10th when the bright lights of October hit center stage.
Active players in MLB’s Top 100 Players Right Now: 4 – INF Yandy Díaz (38), LF Randy Arozarena (40), RF Josh Lowe (77), INF Isaac Paredes (78)
Prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100: 4 – 3B/SS Junior Caminero (4), SS Carson Williams (20), 3B/2B Curtis Mead (50), 1B Xavier Isaac (58)
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brew Crew were a hard team to pin down on this list because, to be frank, I’m not exactly sure what it is that they are doing right now. With Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff both gone, their pitching program is a disaster. And of their five prospects in MLB’s Top 100, four are position players estimated for a 2024 arrival in the bigs. This includes No. 2 overall MLB prospect Jackson Chourio, who they must believe in whole-heartedly, as they’ve already locked him down through potentially 2032 with a check for $82 million. The lone pitching top prospect is Jacob Misiorowski, a starting pitcher with electric stuff that’s still in AA. If defense wins championships and pitching is at the heart of a team’s defense, I wouldn’t be ordering a trophy case just yet.
Active players in MLB’s Top 100 Players Right Now: 3 – RP Devin Williams (59), LF Christian Yelich (72), C William Contreras (81)
Prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100: 5 – OF Jackson Chourio (2), SP Jacob Misiorowski (22), C Jeferson Quero (35), 3B/1B Tyler Black (46), INF Joey Ortiz (63)
San Diego Padres
If the Padres were going to win the World Series, they were going to do it when they had Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Xander Bogaerts in the same lineup. And here’s the crazy part – they had ample opportunity to play well together! Collectively, they played in 92% of their games in 2023! And they finished barely above .500 at 82-80. With Soto gone, the window has already closed.
They are locked into another decade of Bogaerts, who is already showing signs of wear and tear at age 31 and is now moving from shortstop to second base. They have Machado through 2033, when he will also be in his forties. Yes, Tatis Jr. is young and healthy, but I still wouldn’t trust him as far as I could drive a motorcycle (I’ve never been on a motorcycle). With a prospect class that doesn’t excite too much, they’re only going to get older…and older…and older.
If I were a Padres fan, I think I would’ve used up a decade’s worth of excitement in last year’s off-season alone. But at least I wouldn’t need it anymore.
Active players in MLB’s Top 100 Players Right Now: 4 – 3B Manny Machado (24), RF Fernando Tatis Jr. (26), 2B Xander Bogaerts (53), SS Ha-Seong Kim (88)
Prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100: 4 – C Ethan Salas (8), SS/OF Jackson Merrill (12), LHP Robby Snelling (36), RHP Dylan Lesko (56)
Colorado Rockies
I honestly think that Nashville and Salt Lake City will host World Series parades before Colorado will. I mean, what the hell are they doing? With only one player in MLB’s Top 100 (Nolan Jones) and almost $100 million alone committed this year to Kris Bryant, Ryan McMahon, Kyle Freeland, Antonio Senzatela, Germán Márquez, and Daniel Bard, the major league roster is in it deep enough. But with a prospect list that doesn’t include anyone above AA, they aren’t going to improve anytime soon.
And don’t forget that they’re in a division with the Dodgers, Giants, Padres, and Diamondbacks (who seem like they should finish fourth until you realize that, oh yeah, they played in the World Series last year). The Rockies don’t stand a chance, now or ever.
Active players in MLB’s Top 100 Players Right Now: 4 – LF Nolan Jones (87)
Prospects in MLB.com’s Top 100: 4 – SS/2B Adael Amador (28), RHP Chase Dollander (52), OF Yanquiel Fernandez (72), OF Jordan Beck (81)