Early 2024 MLB World Series Odds Show a Clear Favorite
Spring Training is underway, so it is time to take a look at some early odds for the 2024 World Series winners.
Players have reported to Spring Training, so baseball season is officially underway. With that, it is time to take a look at the World Series odds as players prepare for the season.
The 2023 MLB season was exciting, and the Texas Rangers finally took home a World Series championship as they defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.
The offseason was even better. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a plethora of moves, the New York Yankees bolstered their lineup, and there were some teams that decided to clear house. With that said, here are the 2024 World Series odds.
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2024 World Series Odds
- Los Angeles Dodgers: +360
- Atlanta Braves: +600
- Houston Astros: +850
- New York Yankees: +900
- Texas Rangers: +1100
- Baltimore Orioles: +1300
- Philadelphia Phillies: +1400
- Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays: +2000
- Minnesota Twins: +2500
- Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals: +3000
- Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays: +3500
- Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres: +4000
- San Francisco Giants: +5000
- Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins: +6600
- Milwaukee Brewers: +10000
- Pittsburgh Pirates: +12500
- Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels: +15000
- Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals: +25000
- Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics: +50000
The Clear Favorite
The Dodgers are the clear favorite to be the last team standing, and it is for good reason. Los Angeles was one of the most active teams this offseason. They made their first big splash by signing Shohei Ohtani to a record-breaking contract. The Dodgers then signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto for over $300 Million, and the fun did not stop there.
Los Angeles continued to trade for Tyler Glasnow, Manuel Margot, and a great prospect in Trey Sweeney. The Dodgers were also able to sign James Paxton and Teoscar Hernandez along with re-signing Clayton Kershaw and Jason Heyward.
With their new additions, the Dodgers have built a crazy-good super team. Their lineup already consisted of Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and Will Smith. Gavin Lux is returning from injury, as well. The Dodgers have become the most dangerous team in baseball.
In 2023, Los Angeles ranked second in the MLB in OPS, second in home runs, second in runs scored, and they took the second-most walks. In more advanced stats, Los Angeles ranked second in wOBA, and they constantly found barrels at the plate. Los Angeles had one of the best offenses in the MLB last season, and it only improved.
On the mound, the Dodgers ranked in the top-5 in opponent batting average, and wOBA. They were also able to throw a lot of strikes and get their opponents to chase out of the zone.
The Dodgers pitching staff will only get better with Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Walker Buehler returning from injury. The Dodgers have some decisions to make on the mound, but for them, it is a good problem to have.
Other Good Bets
The Dodgers are not the only good team in the MLB, though. The Braves, Yankees, Astros, and Orioles are all good bets, as well.
The Braves made plenty of trades this offseason, but their team remained somewhat the same. They return their entire lineup from 2023, plus the addition of Jarred Kelenic. In all the categories the Dodgers ranked second in, the Braves were first. They were a dangerous offense, and Kelenic adds some more raw power to the explosive Braves’ lineup.
The Yankees made a blockbuster trade for Juan Soto, but that was their big splash. Soto played in every game in 2023, and hit .275 with 35 home runs, and 109 RBI. More impressively, Soto had a 158 OPS+, and 6.1 offensive WAR. He is the offensive addition the Yankees needed for 2024, and he should have a massive impact.
The Yankees pitching staff is a question mark, though. Besides Gerrit Cole, New York does not know what they will get out of Carlos Rodon, newly-signed Marcus Stroman, and even Nestor Cortes. However, the potential is there. If the pitching staff gets going, the Yankees will make some noise in the AL East this season.
The Astros did not make many moves in the offseason, but they signed the best reliever on the market in Josh Hader. They did lose Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek, but Hader makes up for a lot of that. Even with their lack of moves, the Astros should be seriously considered as a World Series contender as they have made it to the ALCS seven years in a row.
The Orioles earned the top seed in the playoffs in 2023, but they were swept by the Texas Rangers. Baltimore responded this offseason by trading for Corbin Burnes, and signing Craig Kimbrel. They got some bad injury news with Felix Bautista, but they should be able to overcome that.
Burnes was second in H/9, fifth in WHIP, and second in inning pitched last season. He is a workhorse that will fit nicely at the top of the rotation for Baltimore. Adding in Bradish’s breakout year, the rise of Grayson Rodriguez, and a healthy John Means, Baltimore could have a top rotation in the MLB.
Teams to Keep an Eye on
The favorites have been established, but that does not mean one of those teams will win it all. The Rangers, Phillies and Diamondbacks are all teams to keep an eye on.
The Rangers have remained mostly the same, but they have lost Jordan Montgomery. However, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Josh Jung, Jonah Heim, and Adolis Garcia are all still in the lineup. Their lineup did some real damage in the playoffs last season as they launched 30 home runs in 17 games. The hope is for that to continue into the regular season.
The Rangers’ downfall right now is their pitching. Max Scherzer, Jacob DeGrom and Tyler Mahle are all not expected back until later in the season, so Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray will have to hold down the top of the rotation.
If the Rangers can get a few pitchers to step up, they will be in good shape, though.
The Phillies were able to re-sign Aaron Nola, and they just signed Spencer Turnbull and Whit Merrifield. Bryce Harper will man first base, so Rhys Hoskins was lost in free agency. However, the Phillies lineup will still consist of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, JT Realmuto, and Harper, so they should still be very good offensively.
On the mound, the Phillies had an ERA just over 4.00 in 2023, but their WHIP and oBA were very good. The Phillies have not changed much on that front, so expect them to have another solid year on the bump.
The Diamondbacks are the reigning National League champions, and they are looking to make it back to the World Series. Arizona has signed Eduardo Rodriguez to help their rotation.
In 2023, Rodriguez had a 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and a 13-9 record, so on paper it was a good season. His advanced stats such as whiff percentage (23.8), chase percentage (27.9), and hard hit percentage (38.5) left more to be desired, but he is still a very good signing.
The Diamondbacks’ lineup is largely the same, but they did add Joc Pederson. Pederson will give Arizona some much-needed power, most likely form the DH spot. The Diamondbacks got hot at the right time last season, and they carry a lot of momentum into 2024.
Sleeper Teams to Watch
There are two NL Central teams to watch in 2024. The Cardinals and Reds have the talent to make a postseason run this season.
The Cardinals have a very talented roster, and they upgraded in a few positions, as well. St. Louis needed to improve their pitching staff this offseason, and they did just that. St. Louis’ best signing was Sonny Gray, but they also added Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.
Gray stood out last season. He had a sub-3.00 ERA, and he had his most innings pitched since 2015. Gray was fourth among pitchers with a 5.3 WAR, and his adjusted ERA+ of 158 was third best in the MLB. Gray’s 2.83 FIP was the best in all of baseball, as well. The Cardinals need him to repeat that success, but he was a great pitcher to sign.
Lynn and Gibson are both hit or miss. But they can both at least eat up plenty of innings for the Cardinals. Lynn had one of his worst seasons last year, but he was much better with the Dodgers than he was with the White Sox. Lynn’s season with the White Sox in 2023 should be taken with a grain of salt.
St. Louis has a good lineup. They were top-half of the MLB in many categories, and the lineup has not changed much. Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Willson Contreras, and Jordan Walker are going to be good. It would be surprising to see the Cardinals have another bad season.
The Reds were a surprise team last season, and they should improve in 2024. Led by Elly De La Cruz, their young core of players is very talented. Spencer Steer and Matt McLain were better than De La Cruz last season, though. Their young lineup is going to do some damage, and they added Jeimer Candelario this offseason.
The Reds’ pitching staff deserves some hype. Hunter Greene is healthy and ready to go. He had 152 strikeouts in 112 innings in 2023, so he is not an easy matchup for opposing hitters. Andrew Abbott made a name for himself, and he finished with a 118 ERA+.
Nick Lodolo did not have the best seven starts, but he has an electric arm and should make some forward progress in 2024. Alexis Diaz, Ian Gibaut, and Lucas Sims hold down the bullpen, and they each had an ERA+ above 135.
The Reds and Cardinals are both good teams, and if either one of them make the playoffs, we could see another unlikely NL team make the World Series.
The Rest of the Field
The 10 teams named are some of the better bets for the World Series. There are some good teams left off, but they are teams that will most likely not make the playoffs. One could make an argument for the Rays, Mariners or Blue Jays, but it seems like a stretch.
The Brewers won the NL Central last season, but they have taken some steps back this offseason. The Twins lost their top pitcher in Sonny Gray, but they play in a weak division. They have a great chance of making the playoffs, but the AL is a little too strong for the Twins to be the team to make the World Series.
Then you have the bottom tier teams. The White Sox, Athletics, Rockies, and Nationals have virtually no chance of even making the playoffs. The Angels and Pirates could fall into that category as well. The Royals have improved greatly, and they have a chance to make some noise in the AL Central, but their chances of winning the World Series are slim to none.
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