By Chris
The Super Bowl is over, and though it’s still winter in most parts of the country, some of us have heard the magical words that give hope to our frozen friends up north: “Pitchers and Catchers Report.”
Indeed, spring training has started across Major League Baseball camps in Arizona and Florida, with pitchers and catchers already in action, and position players to follow for all 30 major league teams. The regular season is still over a month away, but with a busy preseason that includes the return of the World Baseball Classic, it’s time to start thinking about betting on the boys of summer.
That also means it’s time to place your bets on which teams and players will excel this season, and who will win it all. Let’s start with The World Series futures with our good friends at Caesars Sportsbook, and their top 6 contenders to win it all in 2023.
World Series
For the first time since 2019, we appear ready to go into a full season without the Los Angeles Dodgers as favorites. This year, the reigning champion Houston Astros are favorites despite the loss of ace pitcher Justin Verlander in free agency and are (+500) at Caesars.
The next team on the list is the New York Yankees (+750), whose hopes and dreams were answered when they re-signed 62-homer man Aaron Judge. This is not a new position for the Yankees – a highly touted team, loaded with talent, and the highest payroll in baseball, that seems to lose the most critical games at the most critical times. Is this their year?
Houston and New York are just ahead of the top two National League teams, both listed at +800. One is the aforementioned Dodgers, who for once have made no significant offseason additions and saw Trea Turner depart in free agency. The other is the New York Mets, who seemingly made an offseason acquisition every day, headlined by the Verlander acquisition.
The crowded odds board continues with two teams at 10-to-1: The Atlanta Braves, who actually had a better record last year than they did in their World Series-winning campaign of 2021, and the San Diego Padres, who added shortstop Xander Bogaerts in free agency. The Padres will also look forward to Fernando Tatis Jr.’s return after missing last season due to injury/suspension.
So shovel the car out of the snow, buy a plane ticket, get a cold beer and a good hot dog, and go scream for your team. And remember, at this point in the season, everyone is still undefeated! I’ll see you at Spring Training.
WORLD SERIES ODDS
Houston Astros: +500
New York Yankees: +750
New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers: +800
San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves: +1000
Philadelphia Phillies: +1400
Toronto Blue Jays: +1500
Seattle Mariners: +1700
St. Louis Cardinals: +2200
Tampa Bay Rays: +2500
Chicago White Sox: +2800
Cleveland Guardians: +3300
Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels: +4000
Texas Rangers: +5000
Baltimore Orioles: +6600
Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox: +7500
Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins: +10000
Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies: +20000
Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics: +30000
Photo credit: Shutterstock
