Yankees at 3-to-1 lead World Series odds - MLB

One of the few things I like more than gambling is baseball, so the “futures” odds on teams winning the World Series are always interesting. Here’s what Bodog is offering right now (for entertainment purposes only, of course):

AMERICAN LEAGUE         ODDS        NATIONAL LEAGUE         ODDS
New York Yankees         3-1        Philadelphia Phillies    6-1
Boston Red Sox           6-1        St. Louis Cardinals     12-1
Seattle Mariners        16-1        Los Angeles Dodgers     16-1
Tampa Bay Rays          18-1        Chicago Cubs            18-1
Minnesota Twins         18-1        Atlanta Braves          20-1
Los Angeles Angels      18-1        Colorado Rockies        20-1
Chicago White Sox       18-1        San Francisco Giants    22-1
Texas Rangers           25-1        New York Mets           28-1
Detroit Tigers          30-1        Arizona Diamondbacks    35-1
Oakland Athletics       60-1        Florida Marlins         38-1
Cleveland Indians       75-1        Milwaukee Brewers       45-1
Baltimore Orioles      100-1        Cincinnati Reds         50-1
Kansas City Royals     100-1        Houston Astros          75-1
Toronto Blue Jays      150-1        San Diego Padres       100-1
Pittsburgh Pirates     150-1
Washington Nationals   150-1

Perhaps the media hype surrounding Seattle’s new management really has gotten out of control, because there’s no way the Mariners should have the fifth-highest odds in all of baseball to win the World Series at 16-to-1. General manager Jack Zduriencik and company have made tremendous strides and it wouldn’t surprise me if they made the playoffs, but 16-to-1 seems crazy
I actually picked the Rangers to narrowly beat the Mariners (plus the Angels and A’s) in the AL West, so I like them at 25-to-1 quite a bit more. The Tigers at 30-to-1 also seems like a decent bet, if only because their offseason losses have generally been overstated and winning the AL Central almost never requires more than 90 victories.
Over in the NL, the Cardinals at 12-to-1 seems decent as far as heavy favorites go. I think they’re neck and neck with the Phillies as the best team in the league and the NL Central may not offer much of a challenge. With that said, the Brewers are certainly a solid enough team that 45-to-1 seems pretty good as a flier. I’d take Milwaukee over at least 3-4 teams with lower odds.
Incidentally, the one thing I’m sure of is that you’ll get an equal return on your investment and probably more enjoyment literally flushing money down the toilet or lighting money on fire than you will betting it on the Pirates, Nationals, or Blue Jays at 150-to-1. Bodog could offer 150-to-1 odds on the Pirates winning the World Series this decade and I’d have to really think about it.

SAN DIEGO — Willson Contreras is going to St. Louis to replace Yadier Molina at catcher, agreeing to an $87.5 million, five-year contract with the Cardinals on Wednesday.

A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed the move to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical.

The addition of Contreras fills a major void for St. Louis, which won the NL Central this season with a 93-69 record. Molina retired after spending his entire 19-year career with the Cardinals, making 10 All-Star teams and winning nine Gold Gloves.

Contreras was one of the Chicago Cubs’ last holdovers from their 2016 World Series championship. He made his big league debt that year and helped the franchise to its first title since 1908.

The fiery, strong-armed catcher hit .243 with 22 homers and 55 RBIs in 113 games in his last season with his first major league team. He was on the market this summer — leading to an emotional day at Wrigley Field for what looked like his final home game with Chicago — but he remained with the team after the trade deadline.

Contreras was the best option in a thin market for free agent catchers that also included Christian Vázquez and Gary Sánchez.

Contreras also has played first base, third base and the corner outfield spots in the majors. The three-time All-Star made 39 starts at designated hitter this year.

The Venezuela native is a .256 hitter with 117 homers and 365 RBIs in 734 career games over seven seasons. He hit a career-best 24 homers in 2019 and drove in a career-high 74 runs in 2017.