2023 NL West Futures Odds: Padres Poised To Steal Division

Padres on the Upswing

Baseball betting fans will know that National League West Division has been owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2013 as they have won it every year but one. In 2021, the Dodgers were second in the majors with 106 victories but finished a game behind the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. It marked the most wins ever by a team that didn’t win its division. LA got some measure of payback by eliminating San Francisco in the NLDS.

Sports betting fans will remember that the Dodgers led the majors with a franchise-record 111 victories and won the NL West by a whopping 22 games over the second-place San Diego Padres, the biggest division margin in the majors by far.

Yet the Padres stunned Los Angeles by winning the NLDS in four games. Could a changing of the guard be on tap in the NL West this season as well? Let’s break down the odds to win it from the best online sportsbook sites.

Dodgers Strangely Quiet In Offseason

The Dodgers are still going to have one of the biggest payrolls in the majors this season and frankly always will, but they were very quiet in free agency. Their only major move was re-signing three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is still an excellent pitcher but will be 35 in March and simply can’t make it through a season without at least one stint (if not more) on the injured list at this point.

Los Angeles lost the likes of All-Star shortstop Trea Turner, third baseman Justin Turner, former NL MVP Cody Bellinger and starting pitchers Tyler Anderson, Andrew Heaney. The team’s most talented starting pitcher, Walker Buehler, barely pitched in 2022 due to injury, had Tommy John surgery and likely won’t take the mound at all in 2023. Yet LA is a -130 favorite in the MLB futures betting to win the West again.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws to the plate during the first inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies Friday, Sept. 30, 2022, in Los Angeles. Kershaw will pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023 after re-signing in a $20 million, one-year deal. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

San Diego is +130, and these sports betting odds got better in the offseason by signing All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts away from the Boston Red Sox. No team may have a better quartet of hitters than the Padres do with Bogaerts, Fernando Tatis Jr. (once his suspension is up around April 20), Manny Machado and Juan Soto. One could argue the Padres should be division favorites as things stand now.

San Francisco (+850) was ready to spend big this offseason but came in second in the Aaron Judge sweepstakes. The Giants then were set to add All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa, but that deal fell apart due to concerns in Correa’s physical.

The Arizona Diamondbacks (+3300) and Colorado Rockies (+5000) are in stages of rebuilding, with Arizona much further along with some promising young talent. The Snakes could be a sneaky Wild Card team, but they aren’t winning the West. Colorado could be the worst team in the Senior Circuit so don’t expect to find great World Series odds for the Rockies this year.

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