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The 2025 World Series matchup is set and, one way or the other, something that hasn't happened in a long time will happen. Either the Los Angeles Dodgers will become the first back-to-back champions since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, or the Toronto Blue Jays will win their first World Series since their own back-to-back titles way back in 1992 and 1993.

"Pretty cool. Pretty humble to be part of it," Blue Jays manager John Schneider said following his club's ALCS Game 7 win over the Seattle Mariners. "I've said it before, besides my wife and kids, this is what I pour my life into, so to be leading the team that's going back to the World Series for the first time in 32 years, kind of hits me a little bit. I couldn't be happier for every single guy on the team and in the clubhouse. Not just the players, but the staff too."

Other than regular-season interleague series, the Blue Jays and Dodgers have no on-field ties or rivalry, but there are plenty of off the field connections. The two teams hotly pursued several of the same free agents in recent offseasons, most notably current Dodgers Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki. I'm sure both pitchers will receive a warm reception Friday at Rogers Centre.

With the Fall Classic set to begin Friday, let's compare these two teams position-by-position. The World Series rosters won't be announced until midday Friday, so we have to make some educated guesses with regards to some injury cases. We'll do the best we can. Come with me, won't you?

Catcher: Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays

So many of these positions are toss ups. Will Smith is excellent and the superior hitter, at least when his hand is healthy, which it seems to be now. Kirk is a better defender though, especially the better pitcher-framer. We saw him steal more than a few strikes in the ALCS. Strikes that swung innings and helped snuff out rallies. Plus it's not like Kirk is a slouch at the plate. Smith's hand not being 100% -- he hasn't driven the ball with much authority this postseason -- makes me lean Kirk behind the plate. Perhaps the fact there has been a Will Smith (either the catcher or the lefty reliever) on each of the last four World Series means I should pick Smith? Much to ponder.

First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays

Vlad Jr. is the only first baseman in baseball I would take over Freddie Freeman. Freeman's had a sluggish postseason by his standards. Not bad, just good rather than great, whereas Guerrero has been the best hitter in the world this month: .442/.510/.930 with twice as many home runs (six) as strikeouts (three) in 11 postseason games. He's also played some nifty defense too. Very rarely can you go wrong with Freeman. This is one of those times. Guerrero's the pick at first base.

Second base: Tommy Edman, Dodgers

Bo Bichette's status for the World Series is up in the air. He hasn't played since early September because of a knee injury, and he said he'll be ready to go earlier this week, though he admitted he didn't know in what capacity. Can he start at short? Will he be limited to pinch-hitting duty? If he starts at short, that will push Andrés Giménez back to second base. If he can't, it'll be Isiah Kiner-Falefa at the keystone. For now, I'm going to assume Giménez has to play short and it'll be Kiner-Falefa at second, making Edman the easy pick. He's nursing an ankle injury and isn't overly mobile right now, but he's having a strong postseason offensively, with a knock for key hits. Edman vs. Giménez would be more of a toss up.

Shortstop: Mookie Betts

It really is remarkable not only that Betts is playing shortstop, but playing it as well as he is. He's a Gold Glove finalist and he deserves it! Even if Bichette is able to start at short in the World Series, Betts is the pick here. He shook off that early season slump and has looked like prime Mookie Betts the last few weeks. There would also be valid questions about Bichette's effectiveness after the knee injury and the long layoff. Mookie's the pick. Can't imagine anyone outside Canada would disagree.

Third base: Ernie Clement, Blue Jays

I am a Max Muncy fan and he has a history of excellent postseasons, but Clement has been out this world good this October: .429/.444/.619 with more than twice as many extra-base hits (five) as strikeouts (two). Clement's excellence stretches back to the final few weeks of the postseason too, plus he's a very good defender and baserunner. Normally I would bet on the track record over small sample size postseason performance (Muncy's having a good postseason himself), but Clement's been such a tough out and do-it-all guy for Toronto that I'll take him over the next 4-7 games.

Left field: Enrique Hernández, Dodgers

Hernández and Nathan Lukes have almost indistinguishable batting lines this postseason: .306/.375/.417 for Hernández and .333/.381/.410 for Lukes. Lukes is the superior and more natural outfield defender. I just have a hard time betting against October Kiké. He has, once again, raised his game in the postseason after a downright bad regular season. The rational part of my brain says Lukes because it's been similar offense this October with better secondary skills. The rest of my brain doesn't want to bet against Hernández this time of year. Clement is my vibes pick for the Blue Jays. Hernández is my vibes pick for the Dodgers.

Center field: Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays

Andy Pages had a terrific regular season, one in which he broke out as a long-term keeper for the Dodgers, but he's been just dreadful during the playoffs. I'm talking a .086/.135/.114 batting line dreadful. Varsho has performed well (.273/.304/.500) and he is one of the best defensive outfielders in the game. That plus Pages falling off a cliff this postseason makes Varsho an easy call in center field. Also, I feel like he hasn't gotten enough love for hitting 20 home runs in only 271 plate appearances around injuries during the regular season. That's basically a 40-homer pace with elite center field defense.

Right field: Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers

Another toss up. Addison Barger has quietly had an excellent postseason, hitting .286/.375/.514 with a ton of hard contact. He's also cut his strikeout rate from 24.1% during the regular season to 17.5% in the postseason while raising his walk rate from 7.2% to 12.5%. Barger's put together a lot of tough at-bats for Toronto. He started the postseason at third base and moved to right field when Anthony Santander went down with a back injury. He's not a natural there, though he is almost certainly a better defender than Hernández. In the end, Teoscar has shown a knack for big hits (big home runs, specifically) the last two postseasons, and I'm going to lean on that. With the game on the line, I'd rather have Hernández at the plate than Barger.

Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers

I think Ohtani's performance in Game 4 of the NLCS -- three home runs as a hitter and 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings as a pitcher -- was the best single-game performance ever. At minimum, it was the coolest single-game performance ever. Ohtani's competition at DH is George Springer, who hit the ALCS game-winning home run in Game 7. One guy is hitting .239/.321/.609 this postseason. The other is hitting .220/.333/.634. I'm not even going to bother to tell you which is which because they're so similar. These are the only two DHs in baseball that make for a toss up. If it was any else on the other side, Ohtani or Springer would be the pick easily. I just can't not pick Ohtani. That guy seems superhuman. I was leaning Ohtani anyway, and Springer playing through a knee injury is enough to push me over the line.

With our nine position players picked, let's build an All-World Series starting lineup, shall we? This is how I'd line up the starting nine:

  1. DH Shohei Ohtani, LHB
  2. SS Mookie Betts, RHB
  3. 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., RHB
  4. RF Teoscar Hernández, RHB
  5. CF Daulton Varsho, LHB
  6. C Alejandro Kirk, RHB
  7. LF Enrique Hernández, RHB
  8. 3B Ernie Clement, RHB
  9. 2B Tommy Edman, SHB

The Betts/Vlad/Teoscar pocket in the 2-3-4 spots would invite the opposite manager to use his best righty reliever, but who cares? I'll take my chances with those three guys against any righty reliever. Four Blue Jays and five Dodgers, though some of these positions are so close (catcher, third base, left field, right field, DH) that you could argue the All-World Series team should have as many as seven Dodgers or six Blue Jays. Betts at short, Edman at second, Guerrero at first, and Varsho in center are the only obvious positional advantages for either team, I think.

Rotation: Dodgers

You know you're in good shape when Tyler Glasnow is the worst of your four postseason starters. Toronto's rotation is not getting enough love, I don't think. Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage are a strong 1-2 punch and Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer have both come up with strong starts this postseason. That said, those guys aren't Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani, and Glasnow. In fact, if you build out an All-World Series rotation, do any Blue Jays' starters make the top four? I'd rank the eight World Series starters like this:

  1. LHP Blake Snell
  2. RHP Shohei Ohtani
  3. RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto
  4. RHP Tyler Glasnow
  5. RHP Kevin Gausman
  6. RHP Trey Yesavage
  7. RHP Shane Bieber
  8. RHP Max Scherzer

You could argue for Gausman (or even Yesavage) over Glasnow, but I don't think I could go higher than that. Ultimately, these are all excellent pitchers. Both teams have strong rotations. On paper, L.A.'s is superior. It has certainly played out that way on the field to date this October.

Bullpen: Blue Jays

The weakest part of the two World Series teams is their bullpens, so we could be in for some late-inning fireworks on both sides. That's fun. Not so much for fans of the two teams, but for everyone else. Sasaki and Jeff Hoffman have both looked excellent at times and combustible at others this postseason. Louie Varland is the best setup man between the two teams and boy, it sure feels like Dodgers manager Dave Roberts' continued reliance on Blake Treinen will bite him at some point, no?

Build an all-World Series seven-man bullpen and it probably looks like this:

Both managers have done very good work navigating their shaky relief crews. In L.A.'s case, the starters have made life easy on Roberts by pitching so deep into games. Schneider has had to get a bit more creative throughout October. I'll take Hoffman and Varland over Sasaki and Vesia. Go any deeper than that into either bullpen and you're crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. The Dodgers have the better rotation, the Blue Jays the better bullpen, and both lineups are very great. If the World Series isn't evenly matched, it's darn close to it.