MLB: A Way Too Early Look at the 2020 World Series Odds
By Ryan Sanders
Dark Horses Worth a Flyer
Los Angeles Angels +6600, New York Mets +2500, Cincinnati Reds +5000, Tampa Bay Rays +2000
There is a lot to like about the Angels. Joe Maddon is in the fold, Mike Trout is still the best player in MLB, Shohei Ohtani will be a pitcher next year.
The Angels have shown a willingness to spend money and every year they get closer to the end of the Albert Pujols experience. They figure to make a run at top of the market stars like Cole, Anthony Rendon, and a number of mid-level signings.
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They also have Jo Adell, who could be Tori Hunter 2.0, waiting in the wings to flank Mike Trout in CF. If they “win the offseason”, which they absolutely could do, the Angels could end up as a trendy pick like the Cleveland Browns and that +6600 number will shoot down.
A three-headed rotation monster, a questionable bullpen, some positional talent, and managerial chaos, sounds a lot like the Nationals, doesn’t it?
This describes the Mets to a tee with deGrom, Syndergaard, and Stroman, the ghost of Edwin Diaz closing out games, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Jeff McNeil, and the since-departed Mickey Calloway.
The Mets just finished with a better record than the Cubs despite everything going wrong for them.
The Nationals just proved that what the Mets have could win the World Series and they were just there in 2015 when they fell to the Royals. If the Mets could snag a Wild Card, they could very well end up running the table like the Nationals.
The Reds went for it in 2019 and dug themselves in a huge hole early on in the MLB season and could never dig themselves out despite playing good baseball the rest of the year.
Cincinnati arguably made the biggest signing of the offseason, bringing in Driveline founder Kyle Boddy to lead their pitching development. They could be another “win the offseason” type by signing guys like Didi Gregorius, Yasmani Grandal, Mike Moustakas, and/or someone from the Nick Castellanos/Marcell Ozuna/Yasiel Puig OF triumvirate. That +5000 could end up dropping way lower come the beginning of the MLB season as the Reds attain dark horse status.
The Rays took the Astros to the brink in a 5 game series and outdueled everyone on their way to a Wild Card despite playing in the AL Easter and still don’t get the due they deserve for their player development. They have a bit of a 40 man roster crunch this off-season that could lead them to consolidate some of that talent into star power production.
The alternative is to keep using a rotation of talent who delivers despite not being household names.
Next. Starlin Castro becomes intriguing free agent. dark
Obviously there can only be one winner but these are my early thoughts not the field for next year. Most of this will probably end up looking quite stupid when the Astros come back with a Vengeance or the Braves go crazy and win it. The Nats started at +1400 last year so anything is possible. Well, anything except for this.