Red Sox World Series Odds Dip, While Yankees, Dodgers Remain Favorites
BOSTON (CBS) -- With baseball set to return at the end of July, sports books across the country are updating their World Series odds for the 60-game season. Those odds remain pretty bleak for the Boston Red Sox.
That is understandable even if the Red Sox are just two years removed from winning a title, given all the roster turnover for a team that missed the playoffs last year. The Red Sox have no more Mookie, trading away their star player to the L.A. Dodgers (along with David Price) in order to get under luxury tax threshold for 2020. In addition to losing Price from the rotation, Boston is also without Chris Sale, who underwent Tommy John surgery in March. There is also a new man in charge, with Ron Roenicke taking over for ousted skipper Alex Cora.
Yeah, the Red Sox have a lot going against them in this shortened 2020 season, and the odds-makers are taking note. When it comes to their chances at winning a World Series in 2020, things don't look very good for Boston. Following news of a return Tuesday, the team's World Series odds dropped across the board.
BetMGM.com dropped the Red Sox from +3500 to +4000. FanDuel dropped Boston from +3300 on Feb. 5 to +4600 after Tuesday's announcement. Oddsshark currently has the Red Sox at +5000 to win it all this fall. DraftKings gives Boston slightly better odds at +3000, but that is also down from what they had roughly three months ago, when the Red Sox were +2500 on March 11.
Most sports books have the New York Yankees or Los Angeles Dodgers as the favorites to win it all during this shortened season, which won't make Red Sox fans feel any better about the current state of their favorite team. The Houston Astros, the team most MLB fans will be rooting against all season long, are locked in with the third-best odds to win the World Series on most sports books.
Boston is expected to finish third in the AL East according to most sports books, with the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays slated to have better seasons within the division. The Baltimore Orioles are slotted to be one of the worst teams in the big leagues according to many odds-makers.
Maybe the Red Sox will surprise the pundits, and if they do so, it'll likely be thanks to their offense. Though Betts will no longer lead the charge, Boston still has J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts and the blossoming bat of Rafael Devers in the heart of its order. The Red Sox will also be counting on Andrew Benintendi to have a bounce-back season, and hope that Alex Verdugo can replace some of Betts' pop in the lineup.
Starting pitching remains the biggest question mark for the team, with the rotation not only losing Sale and Price, but also workhorse Rick Porcello. That leaves the Red Sox with Eduardo Rodriguez, Nathan Eovaldi, Collin McHugh, Martin Perez and Ryan Weber as a potential starting five.
Dealing Betts signified that 2020 would be a rebuilding season for the Red Sox, a year to get under the luxury tax before ramping back up in 2021. It would appear the odds-makers agree with that assessment.
