Darren Myers
- The Red Sox have claimed the pole position in our 2018 World Series odds update
- The Dodgers could find themselves out of the playoffs despite their splashy new mid-season acquisitions
- The Tampa Bay Rays have emerged as one of the Majors’ biggest surprises after throwing in the towel at the trade deadline
What a difference a month can make. Back on August 1st we were forecasting champagne showers for the Dodgers after they deftly acquired All-Stars Manny Machado and Brian Dozier at the trade deadline. The two deals fortified one of the league’s most talented lineups and gave LA a pair of sure-handed sluggers to shore up their offense and strengthen their defense.
Now, just four weeks later, the Dodgers are in third place in the NL West and could miss the playoffs altogether. It would be a shocking turn of events for a club that seem destined for the World Series when the 2018 season began.
LA isn’t the only team whose fortunes have changed dramatically over the past month. We’ve readjusted our 2018 World Series odds to reflect the latest trends and developments from around the Majors.
2018 World Series Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 5/1 |
| Houston Astros | 6/1 |
| New York Yankees | 8/1 |
| Chicago Cubs | 10/1 |
| Cleveland Indians | 11/1 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 12/1 |
| Oakland Athletics | 15/1 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 20/1 |
| Atlanta Braves | 22/1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 25/1 |
| Colorado Rockies | 28/1 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 30/1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 33/1 |
| Seattle Mariners | 50/1 |
| Washington Nationals | 100/1 |
| San Francisco Giants | 200/1 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 200/1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 200/1 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 400/1 |
| Minnesota Twins | 500/1 |
| FIELD | 1000/1 |
The Red Sox have emerged with the shortest odds to win the 2018 World Series after going 15-8 in August and putting together a pair of five-game winning streaks. Keep on reading to discover which teams have experienced the most movement over the past four weeks.
Biggest Risers
| Team | Aug 1st Odds | Aug 28th Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Sox | 8/1 | 5/1 |
| Colorado Rockies | 35/1 | 28/1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 500/1 | 200/1 |
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox have cooled off slightly over the past week, but they’re still on pace to top 110 wins for the first time in franchise history. Mookie Betts and JD Martinez has been exceptional as expected, but David Price also deserves a little love. The former Cy Young winner has gone 4-0 with a 1.09 ERA since the All-Star break and is holding opposing hitters to a .195 BA during that span. Who knew giving up Fornite could be so good for your career?
Colorado Rockies
As is usually the case, the secret to Colorado’s success has been outstanding offense. The Rockies rank first in the NL in slugging percentage, second in triples, third in total bases, and fourth in runs, hits, home runs, RBI, and batting average. Add it all up and you’ve got a team that no one in their right mind wants to face in a one-game, winner-take-all play-off.
Tampa Bay Rays
It might be time for Rob Manfred to break up the Rays. Tampa Bay is riding an eight-game winning streak and is fresh off a stunning three-game sweep of Boston in which they outscored the Red Sox 24-5.
The Rays have won 8 in a row and just became the first team to sweep the Red Sox this season. Seems good.
— Yants (@YancyEaton) August 26, 2018
It’s quite a turn of events for a team that appeared to throw in the white towel at the trade deadline when they moved two-time All-Star Chris Archer to the Pirates, and sent hard-hitting catcher Wilson Ramos to the Phillies. The Rays, who have gone 16-8 in August, have little chance of making the postseason, but they’re in excellent position to spoil other teams’ dreams of playing in October.
Biggest Fallers
| Team | Aug 1st Odds | Aug 28th Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 6/1 | 12/1 |
| Seattle Mariners | 30/1 | 50/1 |
| Washington Nantionals | 40/1 | 100/1 |
Los Angeles Dodgers
Machado and Dozier were supposed to save LA’s season, but both players have underwhelmed during their time in Dodger blue. Machado is batting just .266 with seven home runs and 17 RBI in 143 at bats, while Dozier is hitting .232 with three homers and 13 RBI in 82 in 101 plate appearances. That kind of production won’t cut it, especially with 2017 NL Rookie of the Year Cody Bellinger mired in a sophomore slump and closer Kenley Jansen unable to get anyone out since returning from the DL with an irregular heartbeat. Dave Roberts needs someone – anyone – to step up before the season slips through their fingers.
Still 34 games to go, but Kenley Jansen surrenders another homerun to cost #Dodgers‘ Lack of offense, inability to close. 4 and a half back. Am I the only one worried?
— Fred Roggin (@FredNBCLA) August 23, 2018
Washington Nationals
The Nationals decided to stand pat the July 31st trade deadline. It seemed like a sensible move at the time, as Washington was 53-53 and still in the thick of things in the jam-packed NL East. Exactly three weeks later, however, they did a complete 180 and dumped first baseman Matt Adams and franchise cornerstone Daniel Murphy for pennies on the dollar. It was just the latest puzzling move in a season full of them, and it officially signalled the end of Washington’s reign atop the division. The Nats, who averaged 92.5 wins from 2012-2017, are likely to go down as the greatest team to never reach the World Series.
Seattle Mariners
Few contenders have suffered a more precipitous fall from grace this month than the Mariners, who are now seven games behind the Astros in the AL West after going 11-13 in August. Losing two of three against Houston and Oakland certainly didn’t help, but Seattle also lost series to Texas and Toronto, a pair of clubs just playing out the string. They’ll need far better focus – and more than a little luck – if they hope to snag a Wild Card spot.
