It’s always interesting to look at the betting odds and see how bookmakers predict the team to play this year. With sports betting now legal in New York, why not take a look at some of the recently-launched New York Sportsbooks?
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
National League East Winner – +140 (1st)
While there are certainly still some moves to be made, the top of the NL East food chain won’t look too much different by the time the season kicks off. The Mets have made their moves, while the projected second-place Braves (+160) really only need to bring back Freddie Freeman to run back their championship squad from last season, and all reports would indicate that deal is in the works.
Working further down, the Phillies are third at +475, while the Marlins and Nationals are huge longshots at +1000 and +2200, respectively. The Phillies will almost certainly try to add more pieces once free agency reopens, but it’s hard to imagine their betting odds moving up into Mets or Braves territory unless they make a few major moves.
As long as Freeman re-signs and Ronald Acuna can come back and contribute during the second half of the season the race for the NL East crown looks to be between the Mets and Braves, it will be interesting to see how the division shakes out.
National League Winner – +500 (2nd)
A bit surprising here as the Dodgers are favorites at +320 here, despite losing Corey Seager and Max Scherzer to injury and Max Muncy’s status for the start of the season up in the air due to a torn UCL. Obviously, the Dodgers are resourceful, but those are still big shoes to fill.
Outside of the top two, the Braves, Padres, and Brewers are tied for the third-best odds to win the pennant at +600. We’ve already the Braves, so let’s move on to the Padres. San Diego is looking to rebound after a disappointing with a lot of hype saw them fail to make the playoffs. With talents like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, they can never be overlooked, but I still have a tough time buying them as a contender after their late-season collapse last year. Milwaukee, meanwhile, has a phenomenal pitching staff but that can sometimes regress from year to year and their offensive output will be hurt with the departure of Eduardo Escobar.
From there, we have Giants, Cardinals, and Phillies all with odds of +1100 or longer. The Giants had a surprise run en route to Major League Baseball’s best record. However, the retirement of Buster Posey and the possible departure of Kris Bryant to free agency could dampen their chances at running it back. The Cardinals are an interesting sleeper pick here, as they really turned it on the second half of last season. They have a mix of young talent and veteran experience, so they could be the dark horse pick to represent the NL in the World Series.
World Series Winner – +1000 (4th)
For odds to win the Fall Classic, DraftKings currently has the Dodgers, Yankees, and Astros ahead of the Mets. The Yankees are a surprise on this list, as they failed to make it out of the Wild Card game, despite the midseason additions of Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo. Of course, they’ll always receive a ton of hype but having them at the second-best odds to win the chip seems a bit fishy.
The Astros have been consistently excellent over the past few seasons (even if they occasionally needed the help of some trash cans) so it’s not surprising that they’re placed so high up here. Other notable AL contenders include the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox (both at +1100) as well as the Tampa Bay Rays (+1500).
The Jays and Sox both have a plethora of phenomenal, young talent. Neither one of these teams would surprise anyone if they made a run at a championship. The Rays, of course, have Moneyballed their way into consistent results, even with a shoestring budget. With Randy Arozarena and the recently-extended Wander Franco leading the charge, they are expecting to make a trip to their third World Series in franchise history this year.
While there is a lot of talent around the league, it’s still nice to see the Mets get the respect of bookmakers around the country. It will be interesting to track if these odds move at all between the end of the lockout and the start of the regular season, but for now, we’re sitting pretty. Let’s just hope the team’s performance on the diamond matches the bookies’ expectations.
