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MLB 2020 Season: The odds probably aren’t in your favor anymore

By Ryan Sanders

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 17: A general view of Yankee Stadium prior to a game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays on July 17, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 17: A general view of Yankee Stadium prior to a game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays on July 17, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Now that a majority of the offseason has happened, let’s take a look at the World Series favorites for the 2020 MLB season according to Vegas odds.  Unless you are a fan of two big-city teams, chances are your team has quite long odds.

Right after the World Series, Call to The Pen looked at who Vegas thought the 2020 MLB season champion would be.  At the time, the Astros were the favorite with +400 odds but the trash can scandal and losing Gerrit Cole have knocked them out of pole position.

As you can imagine, the Yankees signing Cole and the Dodgers acquiring Mookie Betts has catapulted them into the top two at +350, and +395 respectively. The Astros remain a strong favorite at +574 and are the only other team with 3 digit odds.

The team with the most value here is the Tampa Bay Rays.  They haven’t had a splashy offseason but will return a majority of the team that won 96 games and took the pennant-winning Astros to the brink. They are likely destined to the AL wild-card game where anything can happen which pushes their odds down.

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The Cubs, Phillies, and Mets didn’t even make the playoffs and they have better odds. The Red Sox have the same odds and yet they are in the process of ridding themselves of Mookie Betts.

The Braves and Nationals are the top two NL Teams not from LA with the best odds because they have a path to home-field advantage by winning the NL East.  The Dodgers are the primary roadblock for any team in the NL but the Nationals just proved that they can be beaten.  Even with Mookie Betts probably in LA, he or Cody Bellinger or one of the other Dodger stars could have a bad series and cause them to have another early exit from the postseason.

The NL Central favorite is seen by oddsmakers in Vegas as the weakest division in the NL as it gives the Cubs and Cardinals virtually the same odds as the Phillies and Mets. The Brewers aren’t quite the same value as the Rays but they made the playoffs last season without star Christian Yelich. The Brewers have shown an ability to cultivate talent without flashy names so their chances should not be slept on.

The Reds and White Socks definitely fall into the “win the offseason” category as they both slashed their odds down at 1000 points.  The Diamondbacks too knocked 1600 points off their odds with the trade for Starling Marte and signing of Madison Bumgarner. They are an interesting team to make the wild card but not winning the World Series.

Lastly, the Marlins, Tigers, and Orioles are the longest of long shots.  Every year someone in search of attention (or maybe a super fan) will go out and make a wager on the Orioles to win the World Series. At this point, you could probably combine those three teams and they wouldn’t have odds better than the San Francisco Giants or Royals who were both just playing each other for the title in 2015.

The 2020 MLB season is right around the corner and the prospect of winning or defending a championship is on the mind for many teams. Unfortunately, if you aren’t a fan of an LA or NY team, your odds of dogpiling, having a parade in your city and cementing your place in history are long at best.  But that’s why we play the games anyway because anything can happen.

MLB win totals: AL West over or under according to Vegas. dark. Next

2020 MLB Season World Series Odds – Courtesy of The Action Network

New York Yankees +350

Los Angeles Dodgers +395

Houston Astros +574

Atlanta Braves +1192

Washington Nationals +1300

Minnesota Twins +1779

St. Louis Cardinals +1838

Philadelphia Phillies +1895

Chicago Cubs +2000

New York Mets +2000

Boston Red Sox +2341

Cleveland Indians +2341

Tampa Bay Rays +2341

Milwaukee Brewers +2541

Oakland Athletics +2897

Los Angeles Angels +2919

Cincinnati Reds +3231

Chicago White Sox +4000

San Diego Padres +4737

Arizona Diamondbacks +5000

Texas Rangers +7742

Toronto Blue Jays +8890

Colorado Rockies +12004

San Francisco Giants +21177

Pittsburgh Pirates +33344

Seattle Mariners +37506

Kansas City Royals +66678

Detroit Tigers +100000

Miami Marlins +100000

Baltimore Orioles +100000

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