Professional baseball seemed like it would be the first sport to resume after the COVID-19 hiatus. There is the least contact between players; with the exception of the catcher, batter and umpire, it is fairly easy to maintain social distancing for the most part. If you look back at photos of baseball in the United States during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, you see the catcher, batter and umpire all wearing face masks. Let’s find out what their plan is to get back in action and the current odds to win the World Series so you can plan ahead your bets against their MLB odds.
MLB News: Updated World Series Odds & Picks
The Major League Baseball and the players’ union took weeks to come to an agreement on the money, so while baseball resumed in South Korea weeks ago, it took commissioner Rob Manfred unilaterally imposing this year’s schedule for MLB: a 60-game sprint that has teams playing only against their own division and against the geographically matched division in the other league, to minimize travel. So the American League East teams will play each other and the National League East teams. Yes, this makes live very easy for the Eastern division teams, as each of them has a couple of good teams and then some dreadful ones, but it is better than nothing. If you want to include futures wagers on MLB in your sports betting, take a look at the latest World Series odds and our thoughts about the best picks.
Championship Odds
- Los Angeles Dodgers +375
- New York Yankees +400
- Houston Astros +800
- Atlanta Braves +1300
- Minnesota Twins +1600
- Tampa Bay Rays +1800
- Washington Nationals +1900
- New York Mets +2000
- Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs +2200
- Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Oakland A’s +2500
- Boston Red Sox +4000
- San Diego Padres +4500
- Arizona Diamondbacks +5000
- Texas Rangers +8000
- Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays +10000
- Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants +15000
- Miami Marlins +30000
- Baltimore Orioles +40000
- Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers +50000
Before we get into some picks, it’s important to note some changes in the rules. First, the National League will also use the designated hitter in home games. If the game goes into extra innings, teams will come to bat with a runner on second base and no outs. These rule changes mean that offense will go up, and you’ll see fewer NL pitchers blowing out a hamstring running out a ground ball. They also mean that extra-inning games will end more quickly.
The Dodgers have a possible Cy Young Award winner in Walker Buehler. They went and got Mookie Betts from Boston. They did lose Hyun-Jin Ryu and David Price from the rotation, but adding prospects Gavin Lux, Brusdar Graterol, Dustin May and Will Smith should help. The Dodgers won 106 games a year ago. But here’s the big question. Will Clayton Kershaw get torched in the postseason this year? That’s the only reason why the Dodgers lost to Washington in the playoffs last year — a lack of relief pitching depth. Graterol should add reliability to the bullpen; he and Blake Treinen should be the middle men. Don’t forget Cody Bellinger bashing balls all over Chavez Ravine.
The Yankees got 103 wins out of a roster that was riddled with injuries all season long. Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge only played 120 games combined, but the Pinstripes still plated 943 runs. If a lot of the kids who stepped up and raked last year can do it again, the Yankees should win the East easily and steamroll to a title. But the Yankees have been the favorites in the past, only to fizzle out early. The Yankees did add starter Gerrit Cole, who got a World Series win in Houston.
The Astros are not giving enough value. They lost Gerrit Cole, which means that their two rotation aces will be Justin Verlander (still elite, but aging) and Zack Greinke (who got torched in some crucial postseason games last year). Lance McCullers Jr returns to the rotation after missing 2019 for Tommy John surgery. Dusty Baker comes to town to manage the team, but he only has a one-year contract. How will the team respond to them?
OK, want a sleeper? Consider the Rangers. Their top three starting pitchers are Corey Kluber (via trade from Cleveland), Lance Lynn and Mike Minor. Slugger Joey Gallo tested positive for COVID-19 but now has enough negative tests to be cleared. What if the offense takes off during an early part of the schedule that is fairly easy, and Texas can build a big lead? Stranger things have happened, and Texas offers a ton of value.
