2020 World Series Odds Ahead Of Spring Training

As its sign-stealing scandal spirals out of control and spills over into Spring Training, the three teams embroiled in that debacle are favored by 2020 World Series odds to win it all.

Three Teams at Center of Scandal Expected to Dominate Yet Again

The Houston Astros take center stage in said scandal, after revelations emerged concerning the team’s usage of cameras trained on opposing catchers, and trash cans banged to signal batters before pitches were thrown.

That nefarious system – aptly dubbed the “dark arts” by Houston front office executives – gave Astros hitters a heavy advantage during a three-year span of 100-win seasons that started in 2017 with a World Series win.

Before attaining baseball nirvana in 2017, the Astros defeated the New York Yankees in a seven-game classic to win the American League Championship Series (ALCS). Fans in the Bronx know now that Houston had an unfair edge in that one, and while the Astros deny using their cheating scheme last Fall, the Yankees’ 4-2 loss in another hard-fought ALCS is still just salt in the wound.

And finally, the Los Angeles Dodgers parlayed a 104-win season – their best ever in 128 years to that point – into a 2017 World Series berth. Of course, with the now fired A.J. Hinch leading a crew of hitters who knew exactly what was coming, the Dodgers lost in seven agonizing games.

That makes two teams (Los Angeles and New York) that can rightfully claim to have had their chance at a championship stolen in 2017, and two more that have appeared in two of the last three World Series (Houston and Los Angeles).

Thus, it’s no surprise to see online sportsbook Bovada slot the Yankees (+350) and Dodgers (+350) as co-favorites to win it all in 2020, followed by the Astros at (+700).

Those odds might have been reversed in Houston’s and New York’s case, but superstar starting pitcher Gerrit Cole defected from the Astros to the Yankees in a $324 million mega-deal. Los Angeles also made a major splash this offseason, trading for all-world outfielder Mookie Betts and former Cy Young award-winning starter David Price – while weakening their 2018 World Series nemesis Boston Red Sox in the process.

All things considered, this three-headed dragon of virtual All-Star squads stand head and shoulders above the rest of baseball. That much can be seen by the current Bovada title totem pole, which prices the trio’s closest competitor in the Atlanta Braves (+1400) at double the odds.

Defending Champ Nats Pace Stacked N.L. East

Before the Washington Nationals went from 19-31 to hosting a 2019 World Series championship parade, the team opened as (+1800) underdogs to win the franchise’s first title. That put the Nats behind powerhouses like the Houston / L.A. / N.Y. triumvirate, along with N.L. East rival Atlanta, which opened at an identical (+1400) last year.

Fast forward to 2020, and the Nationals are still facing the same disrespect with a (+1600) title price that sees the defending champs trail the Braves.

Washington’s front office made every effort to keep its championship core intact over the offseason, re-signing big time free agents like ace Stephen Strasburg to extensions. Even so, the oddsmakers give a young and ascendant Atlanta team – one that took the N.L. East division crown by four games over Washington at 97-65 last year – a slightly better shot at World Series glory this time around.

The only contenders priced at the 20 to 1 tier are the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals.

To see where your favorite MLB team stands in terms of 2020 World Series odds, check out the table below: