Odds to Win 2013 World Series(For the latest Odds, connect to Sportsbook.ag) | Team | Odds | | Los Angeles Angels | 10-to-1 | | Washington Nationals | 10-to-1 | | Los Angeles Dodgers | 10-to-1 | | Detroit Tigers | 10-to-1 | | Cincinnati Reds | 12-to-1 | | San Francisco Giants | 13-to-1 | | New York Yankees | 18-to-1 | | Atlanta Braves | 18-to-1 | | Philadelphia Phillies | 20-to-1 | | St. Louis Cardinals | 20-to-1 | | Toronto Blue Jays | 20-to-1 | | Texas Rangers | 25-to-1 | | Tampa Bay Rays | 25-to-1 | | Boston Red Sox | 28-to-1 | | Oakland Athletics | 35-to-1 | | Baltimore Orioles | 40-to-1 | | Milwaukee Brewers | 45-to-1 | | Kansas City Royals | 50-to-1 | | Arizona Diamondbacks | 60-to-1 | | Cleveland Indians | 60-to-1 | | Chicago White Sox | 60-to-1 | | New York Mets | 75-to-1 | | Seattle Mariners | 80-to-1 | | Pittsburgh Pirates | 80-to-1 | | Chicago Cubs | 80-to-1 | | San Diego Padres | 100-to-1 | | Minnesota Twins | 125-to-1 | | Colorado Rockies | 160-to-1 | | Miami Marlins | 300-to-1 | | Houston Astros | 300-to-1 |
With Spring Training underway, it's time to take a look at the latest odds to win the 2013 World Series. Our favorite bets for the champion of the upcoming season are below… BOSTON RED SOX (28/1): The Red Sox had a disastrous 2012 season with a gaggle of injuries and an baffled manager, Bobby Valentine, pushing all the wrong buttons. But now the roster is healthy, big-salary underachievers have been dumped and Valentine is a thing of the past. Although the AL East is clearly the best division in baseball, there's no reason that Boston can't win this stacked division with a core of players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz at the top of the order with a solid set of free-agent pickups in Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli and Stephen Drew. If Ryan Dempster and Clay Buchholz can pitch up to their capabilities near the top of the rotation, Boston will be in the thick of the pennant race and could be a huge payoff at 28-to-1 to win a third championship in 10 years.
DETROIT TIGERS (10/1): The Tigers are one of four teams with the smallest odds to win the 2013 World Series, but they are the safest bet of the quartet having made back-to-back playoffs and taking the AL Pennant last year. This is basically the same roster, anchored by Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and slugger Prince Fielder. However, the offense has two key additions with DH Victor Martinez coming back from injury plus a defensive upgrade in right field in veteran Torii Hunter. The pitching staff is still top-notch with fireballers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer atop the rotation, and the only real question mark is how 22-year-old Bruce Rondon will fare in his first big-league season as the team's closer. The odds aren't great, but playing in the weakest AL division will be a big help for Detroit getting back to the playoffs, where its rotation can dominate a short series. OAKLAND ATHLETICS (35/1): These odds are very favorable considering the A's finished with 94 wins last season, and were one victory shy of tying the Yankees for the most in the American League. This is a very young ballclub with huge upside, and Oakland solidified the left side of its infield with SS Hiroyuki Nakajima and 3B Jed Lowrie in the offseason. This isn't a powerful slugging team, but with a ballpark that doesn't allow a lot of home runs, the A's focus on getting on base and playing good defense. Corner outfielders Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick are All-Star-caliber players and the young rotation throws strikes and allows their fielders to make plays. This bullpen will still be top-notch once late-innings man Grant Balfour returns in early April, and with the Rangers taking a step back plus the addition of the Astros to the AL West, there will be more easy wins for Oakland to grab in 2013.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (13/1): After taking home two titles in the past three seasons, the Giants are still undervalued at 13-to-1. This team has more proven players than the high-priced Dodgers, and nearly the entire 2012 World Championship roster will return in the team's request for a repeat. Like their bay-area counterparts Oakland, the Giants win with pitching and defense, and not by belting the long balls. They have the reigning NL MVP in Buster Posey behind the plate and retained postseason hero Marco Scutaro to man the middle of the diamond with up-and-coming SS Brandon Crawford. The starting pitching is filthy with Matt Cain and Madison Bumgarner, and if Tim Lincecum can return to his form of just two years ago, this team will remain near the top of the NL West standings all season long.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS (20/1): No team did more in the offseason to improve than the Blue Jays, bringing in Jose Reyes, Emilio Bonifacio and Melky Cabrera on offense, plus NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle to anchor the rotation. With three legitimate sluggers returning to the lineup in Jose Bautista (124 HR over past 3 seasons), Edwin Encarnacion (42 HR last year) and J.P. Arencibia (18 HR in 2012), this is a team that can win a lot of 8-6 ball games in 2013. With the AL East having no clear favorite, 20-to-1 is a nice price to pay for this new title contender.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES (40/1): Skeptics want to chalk up last year to being a fluke, but this team was two wins away from having the best record in the American League and took the Yankees to a decisive fifth game in a low-scoring ALDS last year. Although the Orioles didn't bring in any key pieces in the offseason, they also didn't lose anybody either. Jason Hammel is back healthy to anchor the staff and Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez and Chris Tillman are all capable of building off successful 2012 campaigns. The strength of this team is up the middle with C Matt Wieters, SS J.J. Hardy and CF Adam Jones, and if veteran 2B Brian Roberts has anything left in the tank, this will be a tough team to knock off on a daily basis. At 40-to-1 odds, the O's are worthy of a small wager.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS (45/1): Another darkhorse team that can challenge for its division crown is the Brew Crew. Not only do they have the best offensive player in the National League in Ryan Braun, but 3B Aramis Ramirez is coming off a monster year, and the defense is solid up the middle with 2B Rickie Weeks, 22-year-old SS Jean Segura and lightning-fast CF Carlos Gomez. Milwaukee does not have a true ace, but Yovani Gallardo and Mike Fiers are a capable 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. If the Brewers can find a couple of solid arms to round out the staff, they can certainly challenge the Reds and Cardinals for the NL Central crown.
SAN DIEGO PADRES (100/1): If you like longshots, try a unit on the San Diego Padres, who finished last season with a 24-16 record (.600) in their final 40 games. This team is still lacking in offense, but star 3B Chase Headley (31 HR, 115 RBI last year) and a healthy Carlos Quentin both provide some pop. The pitching is a bit of a question mark with veterans Jason Marquis and Freddy Garcia expected to be part of the regular rotation, but Petco Park keeps scores down and San Diego's bullpen is good enough to hold leads in the late innings and carry bad outings from the starters. The possibility of sneaking into the playoffs as the second Wild Card is certainly slim, but at 100-to-1 odds, the potential payout is outstanding.
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