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MLB News: Dodgers Still Favored In Revised World Series Odds

Staff Writer
5 Min Read
© SB Borg / iStock Getty Images

When the Caesars Sportsbook in Las Vegas released their updated 2020 World Series odds on April 16th, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees were +300 co-favorites to win their respective leagues. Since then online sports betting in Canada and the United States have moved the numbers making the Dodgers the new odds on favorite to win the 2020 World Series – provided the season is played.

Negotiations between the league and the MLB Players Association started on May 12, almost two months after the league suspended spring training and the start of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then the two sides have struggled to come to terms over both the season format and more importantly, player compensation.

Initially, the league submitted a plan for an 82-game season, while the players union plan was a 114-game schedule, with a regular-season that would have stretched through October, and ended with a November playoff and World Series. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the league rejected the player’s proposal and is not planning to make a counteroffer.

Fan Graphs ran an interesting analysis of how a shortened season would impact playoff odds. They made their projections based on if the world had frozen in place, without factoring in the pandemic, with a June 1 start date. In that scenario the gave the Dodgers an 18.5% chance to with the world series, which converts to approximately +525, making them less than attractive at the current +350 price.

Online sports betting in Canada has the following odds.

Opening and Current Odds to Win the 2020 World Series

Team Open Current
Los Angeles Dodgers +800 +350
New York Yankees +600 +400
Houston Astros +600 +800
Atlanta Braves +1200 +1400
Washington Nationals +1500 +1400
St Louis Cardinals +2000 +1800
Minnesota Twins +2500 +2000
New York Mets +2500 +2000
Cincinnati Reds +4500 +2500
Tampa Bay Rays +3000 +2500
Chicago Cubs +2500 +3000
Philadelphia Phillies +2000 +3000
Chicago White Sox +7500 +3500
Cleveland Indians +1500 +3500
Los Angeles Angels +5000 +3500
Oakland Athletics +3000 +3500
Arizona Diamondbacks +6000 +4500
Milwaukee Brewers +3000 +4500
Boston Red Sox +1200 +5000
Kansas City Royals +10000 +5000
San Diego Padres +6000 +6000
Texas Rangers +8000 +6500
Baltimore Orioles +10000 +12500
Colorado Rockies +10000 +12500
Miami Marlins +10000 +12500
Toronto Blue Jays +10000 +12500
Pittsburgh Pirates +20000 +35000
San Francisco Giants +10000 +35000
Seattle Mariners +20000 +35000
Detroit Tigers +100000 +100000

It’s important to note that these Canadian sportsbook odds come with much uncertainty built-in. The length of the season, the impacts the layoff, even how the coronavirus testing is handled.

What we do know today is that with the hiatus now in its third month, even the best-case scenario won’t see baseball coming back until at least mid-July. Should negotiations drag on much longer, the entire season would be put in jeopardy.

The last time there was no World Series was 1994 due to the major league baseball players strike that ended the season on August 12, 1994. That left a lot of fans with a sour taste in their mouths. With everything that’s been going on in the world in 2020, it’s pretty certain that everybody hopes this season will be played out in one form or another.