CLEVELAND — It is easy to imagine a World Series rematch, someday soon, of the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians. Both teams have young players just entering their primes, and several stars on long-term contracts.

But don’t print those tickets just yet.

“I laugh so hard,” said Terry Francona, the Indians’ manager, who won two titles in Boston but never won back-to-back pennants. “When we were fortunate enough to win, people would come the next year and say, ‘Hey, is it hard to repeat?’ It’s hard to win the first one. I mean, a lot goes into it.”

A lot can go wrong on the way to a dynasty. The Indians lost two World Series in the 1990s and quickly won three more division titles, but not a pennant. And the Cubs, considering their history, know better than to expect a long reign.

Yet few teams are positioned better for sustained success. The Cubs’ starting infielders — Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant — are all under club control through 2021, and the ownership has the money to act boldly in free agency.