The Dodgers and Cubs will open the 2025 season with the two-game Tokyo Series from March 18-19. We¡¯ll be counting down to that date with our annual preview series, with each story looking ahead to the coming season by breaking down a particular topic, division by division.

Previously: Division champs most likely to repeat, ranked

Today: The best current rivalry in each division.

Certain baseball rivalries are immortal.

These are huge matchups whenever they happen, no matter the quality of the two teams involved. You know the ones: Yankees-Red Sox. Cardinals-Cubs. Giants-Dodgers.

But bad blood tends to be situational. It turns out that when you¡¯re fighting a team for playoff position all year -- and perhaps even playing them in the postseason -- it can really build up the bile. In many ways, your most bitter rival is the one who most wants what you most want.

Thus, today, we take a look at the biggest rivalries in each division, the ones that have developed out of fierce competition. These are the ones, all season, where we¡¯ll sit up and notice.

NL West: Dodgers-Padres
2024 season series: SD won, 8-5

No offense to the Diamondbacks, whose signing of Corbin Burnes may have established them as the Dodgers¡¯ main threats for the NL West crown this year. But man, this Southern California rivalry has a lot of juice right now. The Padres established themselves as the next big thing when they beat the Dodgers in the 2022 NLDS, and for the second half of last year, they might have actually been the better team. Then they came this close to taking out the eventual World Series champs in the 2024 NLDS. But ¡­ they didn't.

Now, the Dodgers have added player after player, and the Padres, well, the Padres have not done that. (In particular, the Dodgers landing top Padres target Roki Sasaki had to sting for San Diego, which also is poised to lose ace reliever Tanner Scott to L.A. as well.) That won¡¯t cut the tension even slightly each time they play in 2025, particularly considering how this last NLDS went down.

NL Central: Brewers-Cubs
2024 season series: MIL won, 8-5

You want to turn up the temperature on an already-boiling divisional (and geographical) rivalry? Take your rival¡¯s manager. Craig Counsell was beloved in Milwaukee before heading to Wrigley Field before last season to take over as skipper of the Cubs, which is why it was extra satisfying for the Brewers to go ahead and win the division again in 2024 behind newly minted NL Manager of the Year Pat Murphy.

The two teams have had very different offseasons, with the Cubs bringing in Kyle Tucker and the Brewers shipping out Devin Williams. But if the Brewers weren¡¯t going to let trading Corbin Burnes stop them from beating the Cubs again, they¡¯re certainly not going to be daunted by trading their closer. This is some real Midwestern spice.

NL East: Phillies-Braves-Mets
2024 season series: ATL beat NYM and PHI, 7-6; PHI beat NYM, 7-6

Sorry: I couldn¡¯t possibly choose just two of these teams. The Braves and Mets have been battling it out for decades, culminating in the doubleheader on the regular season¡¯s final day (that ended up sending both teams to the playoffs). The Braves and Phillies have been the two dominant teams in this division for years now and are always feisty. And of course, the Mets and Phillies, who have plenty of animosity for each other, just played a barnburner of an NLDS that left Mets fans soaring and Phillies fans reeling.

Every single permutation of these matchups was as close as could be in 2024, and each will make you sweat again this year. Here¡¯s guessing we see one (or even two!) of those permutations in the postseason. Again.

AL West: Astros-Rangers
2024 season series: HOU won, 7-6

This one is also an intrastate rivalry, obviously, but these are also the most fascinating teams in the division ¡­ and this year, they¡¯re each at a bit of a crossroads. The Astros have said goodbye to Tucker and (probably) Alex Bregman, but they still have an excellent pitching staff and have added Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker.

The Rangers won their first World Series in 2023, taking down the Astros in a fiery seven-game ALCS in the process. Their repeat attempt was a huge downer, but the talent is still there. This team still has Marcus Semien and Corey Seager, young players like Wyatt Langford and Evan Carter should take further steps forward and, oh yeah, Jacob deGrom is back atop the rotation.

These are probably still the best teams in the division. Considering they¡¯re the only teams in this division to make a World Series in the last 20 years, that shouldn¡¯t be surprising.

AL Central: Guardians-Tigers
2024 season series: CLE won, 7-6

The Guardians won the division title in 2024 -- their second of the last three years -- while the Tigers still are looking for their first since 2014. But these teams felt like essentially a dead-even matchup when they met in a thrilling, five-game ALDS last October. The Guardians won that by finally being able to get to Tarik Skubal, thanks to a grand slam from Lane Thomas that sent them into the ALCS.

That¡¯s the sort of tight series that will resonate every time the Guardians and Tigers play each other this year. Those games will be pivotal in the division race ¨C a division race that may well, just like last year, have these two teams 1-2. Know this: Every Tigers fan will grimace each time Lane Thomas bats against their team in 2025.

AL East: Orioles-Yankees
2024 season series: BAL won, 8-5

Yes, yes: Yankees-Red Sox is always going to be the centerpiece, and you won¡¯t find many Yankees fans who think of the Orioles on that level. But the Orioles have used the Yankees as a measuring stick for decades, and when the O's won 101 games in 2023, along with this division, it sure looked like they may have finally caught New York.

But last year was an undeniable step backwards for the Orioles, who made the playoffs but for the second straight time were immediately swept in a short series. Now the team that looked like the up-and-comer has more pressure on it than ever.

But it¡¯s the Yankees who have acted with more urgency this offseason, adding all sorts of pieces after losing Juan Soto to the Mets. You can tell these teams have plenty of tension: Don¡¯t forget, they had a benches-clearing fracas just last year.