Oddsmakers think the recent trade involving the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins should give the Bronx Bombers the edge to win next year’s World Series. Sports books have made the team a 5-1 favorite to win the 2018 Fall Classic.
The Marlins shipped last year’s National League home run champion and MVP Giancarlo Stanton to the Big Apple and it instantly put the team in the World Series conversation.
Getting the slugger was a bit of a surprise. They were a plus-1400 to acquire him with San Francisco and St. Louis first at plus-250, followed by Boston at plus-750 and LA at plus-1200. But Stanton had a no trade clause in his contract and approved the deal to the Yankees.
Yankees Have Potent 1-2 Punch
New York already had American League home run champ and Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge and now adding Stanton will provide one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball. It will be the fourth time in MLB history that the two leagues home run leaders played for the same team the following season.
It will also be the second time that two teammates who hit 50 or more dingers in the previous season are teammates. The other was another pair of Yankees, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in 1962.
The only potential problem is that both sluggers play right field and new manager Aaron Boone will have to figure out how to fit them both in the lineup. There is a possibility one of them would move to left or be the designated hitter.
Dodgers Knocked Off Top
In November when the opening odds were released it was the 2017 runner up that was the 5-1 pick. The Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t done much to improve their squad, other than get rid of the bloated salary of Adrian Gonzalez.
That didn’t impress the oddsmakers and when the lines were updated the Dodgers found themselves tied with defending champions Houston at 6-1 behind the Yankees.
One Southern California team that did improve its outlook for next year was the Los Angeles Angels. The team finished two games under .500 and missed the playoffs but won the Shohei Ohtani lottery. The Japanese star pitcher and slugger chose the West Coast squad after several organizations were clamoring for the 23-year-old. The Angels dropped from 50-1 to 30-1 to win the series.
Angels General Manager Billy Eppler, who signed him, believes he will quickly be a star in the states.
“There was a wow factor to him,” he said. “He was a little bit of a showstopper. Big fastball. The ability to throw three off-speed pitches for strikes. And have the presence in the batter’s box that we gravitated to. He fits a lot of our offensive philosophy.”
He won’t play in the outfield on days he doesn’t pitch, instead he will be the team’s designated hitter.