Only five teams in MLB are yet to win a World Series, and a hot take from an MLB personality has the oldest of the lot winning their first in 2026. When asked about the boldest prediction he had heard heading into the postseason, ESPN's Buster Olney said an anonymous MLB exec or scout predicted the San Diego Padres to win a World Series. "The Padres are going to win the World Series for the first time in their history, with just about everything trending in the right direction," Olney wrote.
"'Once you get into the postseason with all of the built-in off days, that's going to help their bullpen -- which is the best,' he noted. The Padres' starting pitching is the team's biggest concern, but as the Dodgers demonstrated in 2024, you can win with three or four functional starters who are backed by a deep bullpen." The Padres, founded in 1969, are the oldest team in MLB without a World Series title, followed by the Milwaukee Brewers, who entered MLB one year later. The Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays are also yet to win a World Series.
San Diego made it to the Fall Classic in both 1984 and 1998, but failed to win the World Series in both instances. The Padres are almost guaranteed to finish in a postseason spot this year, with their magic number currently sitting at one. They hold the top spot in the NL Wild Card, leading the Chicago Cubs by 0.5 games and the Philadelphia Phillies by just one game.
They have made the postseason in three of the last four seasons, and are looking to finally assert themselves in MLB after struggling with the Dodgers for so long. Despite their strong finish to the season, FanGraphs gives the Padres just a 3.0% chance to bring home the World Series. They're nearly guaranteed to make the postseason by the same model, but will definitely be fighting an uphill battle to get to the Fall Classic.
If the standings remain how they are now, the Padres will face the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card round with a home field advantage, which will be difficult given the star power on their opponent's team. After the Cubs, they would face the Brewers, who had the best record in baseball this season, and then would advance to whichever team of the Dodgers, Phillies and Atlanta Braves came out of the other side of the bracket. The Padres have had a strong finish to the season, though, and if they carry their momentum into the postseason, they have a real shot at making history.
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