Can the Mariners win the World Series? National media predictions, betting odds
The Mariners are in the 2025 MLB postseason after winning the American League West. Cal Raleigh and Seattle will face Detroit in the best-of-five American League Division Series, beginning Saturday at T-Mobile Park. Can the Mariners advance to the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s history? Heck, could Seattle win it all? Here’s what the national media is predicting. Plus: betting odds for the Mariners to win the ALDS, the ALCS and the World Series.
ESPN
Of the 25 people on ESPN’s panel for this exercise, 24 predict the Mariners will win the ALDS and advance to the American League Championship Series. Alden Gonzalez writes: “The Mariners make a compelling case as the deepest, most talented team in the AL. Their rotation is arguably the game’s best when it’s clicking, and that seemed to be the case over these last few weeks of the regular season. Their bullpen can pitch with anyone’s. And their lineup, headlined by two legit stars in Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez, is the deepest, most dynamic they’ve had in this era. The Mariners are the only franchise that hasn’t reached the World Series. Their fans are due.”
The Mariners are ESPN’s choice to advance to the World Series, also, with a panel-high 14 votes to win the ALCS (the Yankees were second with seven votes). Five voters on the panel picked the Mariners to win it all, second behind only the Philadelphia Phillies from the National League.
THE RINGER
The Ringer took a different approach. Rather than offering predictions, writer Anthony Dabbundo made a case for why each team in the playoff field could win the World Series, and why they might fall short.
Making the case for the Mariners, Dabbundo writes “They stars have aligned perfectly since the trade deadline. From a pitching, lineup, and playoff path perspective, no one in the American League is more well-rounded heading into the playoffs than Seattle. GM Jerry Dipoto saw that the American League was wide open this season and pushed some prospect chips into the middle of the table at the deadline to acquire Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor. The Mariners offense has a ton of patience, depth, and power. It’s the second-best offense away from home in all of baseball this season. Additionally, Andrés Muñoz and Matt Brash are as good a back-end bullpen duo as any. As long as Bryan Woo is healthy for Saturday, the Mariners are perfectly set up to win the pennant.”
Why the M’s could fall short: “Defense and baserunning,” Dabbundo writes. “As much as I gushed about the Mariners above, their defense and baserunning are glaring holes in their statistical profile, and both tend to matter in October. By outs above average, the Mariners have the fourth-worst defense in MLB; no other playoff team is even in the bottom 10. Julio Rodriguez is elite in center field, but J.P. Crawford has really struggled at shortstop, and Eugenio Suárez is an extremely bat-first third baseman. Seattle’s fundamental issues with athleticism and speed could be a reason it’ll underperform around the margins this month.”
CBS SPORTS
CBS Sports’ five-person panel unanimously picked the Mariners to beat the Tigers in the ALDS. “To be clear, this is not an overreaction to the Tigers’ past month. I just think the Mariners have the better team -- they had the better record and run differential during the regular season -- and that’s especially true if Bryan Woo is available to pitch,” writes R.J. Anderson. “I see no need to get cute.”
Dayn Perry adds: “I just think the Mariners are the better team right now, especially on offense and in terms of rotation depth. The Tigers are going to get only one regular-rest start from Tarik Skubal in this series, which is also notable.”
BETTING ODDS
The FanDuel Sportsbook lists Seattle as the favorite (-172) to win the American League Division Series against Detroit. The site lists the New York Yankees (+155) as the favorite to win the American League, followed by Seattle (+210), Toronto (+320) and Detroit (+500).
FanDuel gives the Mariners the fourth-best odds (+550) to win the World Series, behind New York (+410), the Los Angeles Dodgers (+410) and Philadelphia Phillies (+500). Detroit has the lowest odds (+1300).
This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Can the Mariners win the World Series? National media predictions, betting odds."
