The Athletics entered last season as the betting favorites to finish with the fewest wins in baseball after plummeting to a 50-112 record in 2023.
The A’s beat the odds in their final season in Oakland, finishing 69-93, and oddsmakers expect them to top that mark this year — the first of three seasons in Sacramento before their ballpark is expected to be ready in Las Vegas.
The White Sox, who went 41-121 last year to set the single-season record for most losses in baseball’s modern era (since 1901), have the lowest season win total at the Westgate SuperBook at 53. The Rockies are next at 60, and the Marlins are at 62½.
The Athletics — who signed pitcher Luis Severino to a three-year, $67 million contract this offseason, the largest deal in franchise history — are tied with the Angels and Nationals for the fourth-lowest total at 72.
“The A’s are a tricky team this year,” SuperBook manager Randy Blum said. “They took a big step forward last year, and they added Severino and some other guys this offseason. They spent a little money, but they are playing in Sacramento. That’s a big unknown how much that will affect the season, just playing in an unknown stadium in an unknown city.
“On top of that, as much as they did take a step forward last year, it wouldn’t be a horrible strategy for them to keep stockpiling young talent for when they do get out here (in 2028). If they have some guys become valuable at the trade deadline, it wouldn’t shock me to see them move one or two of them. There’s just a lot of moving parts, but hopefully they can take the next step this year.”
Dominant Dodgers
The Dodgers are the clear +225 favorites to repeat as World Series champions and the runaway leader in season wins with 104½. Los Angeles added two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and Japanese phenom pitcher Roki Sasaki.
The Dodgers’ win total also opened at 104½ last season, when they went 98-64. They went 100-62 in 2023, 111-51 in 2022 and 106-56 in 2021.
“These super high ones, typically the general public doesn’t really like to bet them because it’s such a big number,” Blum said, “and obviously if the sharp guys are staying away, they don’t have an opinion either way.”
NL East
The Yankees and Braves are tied for the second-highest win total at 92½, followed by the Mets at 91½ and the Phillies at 91.
Atlanta is expected to get former National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. and Cy Young candidate Spencer Strider back from injuries early in the season. The Mets added MVP candidate Juan Soto.
“Once you look past the Dodgers, there’s a little cluster of teams that are all pretty even in our eyes. Especially the NL East. That should be a great three-way race,” Blum said. “The Braves certainly can’t be counted out in that division with all the talent they have. The Mets added Soto, and the Phillies have been right there the last couple of years. When we opened the division, we opened all three with the same odds.”
The Yankees are the +675 second choice to win the World Series, followed by the Braves and Mets at 12-1, and the Phillies and Orioles at 14-1.
“The Dodgers have the most tickets, but there has been a lot of interest in all three of the NL East teams,” Blum said.
Best bets
Blum said the SuperBook likes the Nationals (72), Reds (79½) and Guardians (82½) to go over their win totals.
“The Nationals have a lot of good young players, and we’re expecting them to take another step this year. We set our number to make sure we got under bets right off the bat,” he said. “We don’t really agree with the market that seems to think the Guardians are going to take a big step backward this year. They have a lot of young kids coming up through the system, and at some point, they’ll have (Shane) Bieber back in the rotation.
“The Reds, we think their division’s wide open. The Cubs are the early favorites, but the Reds took a little step last year, and we think this could be the year they take a big step forward. They have Elly De La Cruz, one of the most exciting players in the game, and they’ve added some other little pieces around him.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
MLB season win totals
At Westgate SuperBook
Dodgers 104½
Yankees 92½
Braves 92½
Mets 91½
Phillies 91
Orioles 87½
Red Sox 86
Diamondbacks 86
Cubs 86
Astros 86
Mariners 86
Rangers 85½
Padres 85
Tigers 84
Brewers 83½
Twins 83½
Guardians 82½
Royals 82½
Rays 81
Giants 79½
Reds 79½
Blue Jays 79
Cardinals 77
Pirates 76
Athletics 72
Angels 72
Nationals 72
Marlins 62½
Rockies 60
White Sox 53
