After Acquiring Mookie Betts & David Price, Dodgers’ World Series Odds Listed at +400
By Robert Duff in MLB Baseball
Updated: April 9, 2020 at 4:09 pm EDTPublished:
- The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts and 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner David Price from the Boston Red Sox on Monday
- Across the leading sportsbooks, the Dodgers were at odds of +600 to win the World Series prior to this deal
- Sportsbooks now lists LA at +400 to win the 2020 Fall Classic
Did the Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series on Tuesday?
A lot of baseball people certainly seem to be leaning that way.
As part of a blockbuster three-team deal involving the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, the Dodgers 2018 American League MVP Mookie Betts, and left-handed pitcher David Price, the 2012 AL Cy Young Award winner, from the BoSox.
Immediately, there was impact on the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series odds.
Across the leading sportsbooks, the Dodgers were at odds of +600 to win the World Series prior to this deal. Following the trade, sportsbooks showed them at odds of +400 to win the Fall Classic.
2020 World Series Odds
| Team | Total |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees | +350 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | +400 |
| Houston Astros | +700 |
| Atlanta Braves | +1400 |
| New York Mets | +1600 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | +1600 |
| Washington Nationals | +1600 |
| Minnesota Twins | +2000 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | +2000 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | +2000 |
Odds taken Feb. 5th.
Only the New York Yankees (+350) hold better odds to win this season’s World Series than the boys in Dodger blue.
Dodgers Deal a Grand Slam
By adding Betts, LA’s outfield is now two-thirds filled with MVP’s. Cody Bellinger is the reigning NL MVP. Betts is the second-best all-around player in the game today behind Los Angels Angels outfielder Mike Trout.
Betts is a career .301/.374/.519 hitter. He led the majors last season with 135 runs scored. His 2019 numbers of .295/.391/.524 weren’t as impressive as his MVP campaign. However, his metrics display that Betts has been 35 percent better than an average hitter in three of his past four seasons.
Price isn’t the same guy who won the 2012 AL Cy Young for the Tampa Bay Rays. But at 33, he’s a crafty, cerebral pitcher who knows how to keep his team in the game even when he doesn’t take his best stuff to the mound.
He can still bring it. Price fanned 128 in 107.1 innings last season. He’ll adequately fill the void left in the Dodgers’ rotation via the departures of free agent Hyun-Jin Ryu to the Blue Jays and Kenta Maeda to the Twins in this trade.
Think About That Batting Order
It’s not like the Dodgers were hitless wonders before the arrival of Betts . In fact, they hammered an NL single-season record 279 home runs in 2019. To that powerhouse lineup, they’re adding Betts, who’s averaged 29 homers and a .535 slugging percentage over the past four seasons.
LA now lists five players who’ve posted a WAR of five or better at least once in the past three years – Betts, Bellinger, first baseman Max Muncy, third baseman Justin Turner and shortstop Corey Seager. Last season, Seager smacked an NL-leading 44 doubles.
In Mookie Betts' 2018 MVP season, he had 10.9 WAR on @baseball_ref.
In the storied history of the Dodgers, no position player has ever had even 10 WAR.
The highest? 9.7 by Jackie Robinson in 1951.
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) February 5, 2020
It makes the most sense to bat Betts leadoff, where he’s spent approximately 70% of his career. He’s led the majors in runs in each of the past two seasons. Betts has reached base safely more than 40% of the time over that span.
He was a 30-30 man during his MVP campaign. At 27, he’s still very capable of causing mayhem on the base paths.
Your thoughts? #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/UIfDMJs9F2
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) February 5, 2020
Bellinger, who led the NL in WAR (9.0), total bases (351) and was second in slugging (.629) and on-base percentage (1.035), is in the clean-up slot.
Dodgers the Best Betts?
Depending upon who takes the mound on a particular day, LA could send out as many as seven former big-league all-stars to start a game.
Give the Dodgers credit. They’ve won seven straight NL West titles. The team reached two of the last three World Series. But that wasn’t good enough.
How ya feeling @Dodgers fans?
GIFs only: pic.twitter.com/91WKakwwoJ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) February 5, 2020
They’ve gone all in. Betts, Bellinger, Turner, Muncy, Seager, Will Smith and Gavin Lux present an everyday lineup that is every opposing pitcher’s nightmare.
Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Price, Julio Urias, Alex Wood and Dustin May give them the makings of a starting rotation as good as any in baseball.
You'd assume that Cody Bellinger would be the Dodgers' center fielder if LA deals for Mookie Betts to play right field — and that duo would be insanely good defensively. Both top 5 in DRS last year. https://t.co/0MwZGv3fqF
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 29, 2020
The Dodgers wanted pitcher Gerrit Cole but the Yankees got him.
No matter. As of today, the Dodgers are the best team in baseball.
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (+400).
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
