Major League Baseball may be seeing the unpleasant consequences of its hurried spring training this year, as the extended labor dispute compressed the amount of time that teams had to prepare for the regular season. The Chicago White Sox, favored to win the American League Central, just put righthanded starting pitcher Lucas Giolito (abdominal strain) and outfielder A.J. Pollock (hamstring strain) on the injured list, bringing up hurlers Anderson Severino and Jimmy Lambert from the minors. The New York Mets, one of the teams predicted to contend in the National League East, had to put righthander Taijuan Walker (shoulder bursitis) on the injured list, where he joins two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom (inflammation on the shoulder blade). You’ll want to check injury updates closely before committing to any sports betting on baseball in these early weeks. Take a look at how the first week of the season has impacted each MLB team’s odds to win the World Series.
MLB News: Updated Odds to Win the World Series
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| L.A. Dodgers | +500 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | +800 |
| Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox | +1000 |
| N.Y. Yankees | +1100 |
| N.Y. Mets, Atlanta Braves | +1200 |
| Chicago White Sox | +1140 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | +1200 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | +1400 |
| Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres | +1600 |
| Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies | +2000 |
| San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, L.A. Angels | +2500 |
| Seattle Mariners | +3000 |
| Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins | +5000 |
| Miami Marlins, Texas Rangers | +8000 |
| Cleveland Guardians, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals | +10000 |
| Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals | +15000 |
| Oakland A’s | +20000 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles | +25000 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | +50000 |
San Diego still represents an intriguing value pick, because when their starting pitching is healthy, they are a tough team to deal with. Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Nabil Crismatt and Sean Manaea pitched a combined 22 innings, permitting a combined two earned runs and six hits. Darvish and Manaea both had no-hitters going when they came out because of pitch count precautions stemming from the compressed spring training. Taylor Rogers has two saves, throwing a perfect inning for each one, making him a solid late acquisition.
Tampa Bay was the only team that made it to a 3-0 record; not surprisingly, that sweep came against Baltimore, who struck out 37 times in the three losses. Wander Franco started his full season with the big club by going 6 for 11, smacking a double and driving in three runs. Next up is a four-game set with Oakland, a team also predicted to struggle this season.
Houston got off to a 3-1 start against the Angels, and even their loss brought some good news, as Justin Verlander threw five innings of three-hit, one-run ball in a 2-0 loss, looking very sharp in his return from Tommy John surgery. Jeremy Pena, a rookie shortstop whose job it is to replace Carlos Correa, went 6 for 16 with two doubles and a homer in his first four major-league games.
Toronto went 2-1 in their opening series against Texas, but their pitching staff ERA was 7.67 after the series, worst in MLB. The offense did put up 20 runs in the series, and Jordan Romano converted his first two save opportunities.
Philadelphia saw Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber each made their mark in their Philadelphia debuts, hitting their first home runs of the season, and Corey Knebel converted his first save. Aaron Nola, Kyle Gibson and Zach Eflin started the three games against Oakland, throwing a combined 17 innings and posting a 2-0 record and a 2.12 ERA.
Colorado got a pair of wins in their opening series against the Dodgers, as the bullpen nabbed two victories and two saves, and their next task is a trip to Texas to face a Rangers team that added some bats in the off-season but still has horrendous pitching.
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