Fresh off of winning a second consecutive World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers did what they’ve done best over the last few years and signed several of the most coveted free agents on the market. In December, they signed three-time Reliever of the Year Edwin Diaz. Then, in January, they scored arguably the offseason’s biggest prize, outfielder Kyle Tucker.
The Dodgers have already easily achieved World Series-favorite status following their championship win in October. The Tucker signing shot them from +375 at open to +250, and they’ve since shortened further to +230, according to DraftKings lines. Assuming those odds hold to Opening Day, they would be the shortest for a World Series favorite going into the season since the 2003 New York Yankees (+200), beating out the 2025 Dodgers (+240) for that distinction.
There’s certainly a level of fatigue that comes with watching the same team dominate year in and year out … and yet, there’s an undeniable gravitational pull that the Dodgers have on bettors, whether it’s because of the perceived certainty of their success or their persevering brand.
“It’s almost deflating when you hear the news that they signed the best free agent hitter, they signed the best free agent reliever. There’s a little kind of cynicism,” Caesars Sportsbook baseball lead Eric Biggio told ESPN. “At the same time, I think it is good that one of the major-market teams is one of the best teams. That only increases handle for the games, increases the ratings and whatnot. … As much as people love to hate them, I think it’s good for business.”
Biggio adds that the Dodgers-Yankees World Series in 2024 did “huge” numbers, and even the Dodgers’ win over the Toronto Blue Jays last year produced “fantastic” action. DraftKings Sportsbook director Johnny Avello also notes that Los Angeles winning MLB’s championship is not a given and that the team came very close to losing to Toronto last October.
None of that has stopped bettors from backing the Dodgers to win a third straight title. BetMGM reports that Los Angeles has attracted the most tickets (14.0%) and handle (31.9%) for the World Series, as well as — by far — the most handle to win the National League (33.4%). The Dodgers (14.1%) only have less ticket share for the NL than the Chicago Cubs (14.6%).
According to Avello, many bettors at DraftKings saw value on the Dodgers early on: “I think we’ve kind of shut the door there at +230 because [the bettors] were thinking that +350 was a great price, and we did take quite a bit of money on them,” he said.
Either way, Los Angeles’ short pricing is likely not going to give sportsbooks much trouble, even if Dave Roberts’ team does fulfill the three-peat. Instead, some incredibly long long shots such as the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates are BetMGM’s largest liabilities, unlikely as they are to win it all. Avello also notes some outsized action on the New York Mets from the NL as well.
American heroes?
Given the Dodgers’ stranglehold on the National League, bookmakers and bettors alike recognize that a team from the American League could be just four wins away from stealing a championship away from L.A. in the World Series. To that end, following the Dodgers, four of the next six World Series favorites are from the AL.
Of those top teams, the one seemingly making the most noise in the offseason has been the Seattle Mariners, who were incredibly close to knocking off the Blue Jays in the ALCS for their first World Series appearance. Seattle opened at 14-1 for the title, moved to 13-1 by mid-January and sit at 12-1 as the season begins, the third-best odds on the board.
“A lot of love, a lot of money behind the Mariners to win the World Series, to win the American League pennant,” Biggio said, noting them as one of the books’ top liabilities. “I’m a little surprised. I thought we’d see a little more love on the Blue Jays, but really haven’t seen that much money on them. So a lot of money on the Mariners is our number one position. … They seem to have the best pitching in baseball, so it makes a lot of sense.”
After the Dodgers, BetMGM reports its second-most handle backing Toronto and its third most backing Seattle for the World Series. BetMGM also saw significant interest in the Yankees and Detroit Tigers, while Caesars reported some liability with the Baltimore Orioles.
While the Blue Jays, Mariners and Orioles all shortened in the World Series markets over the offseason, the Yankees lengthened pretty significantly from +700 to 10-1, although that still puts them second on the odds board behind Los Angeles.
Many bettors are looking to take the Dodgers out of the equation entirely by betting the American League-winner market. BetMGM senior trader Hal Egeland said that the book’s AL-winner market has nearly twice as many bets as the NL-winner market does.
Once again, the Mariners are popular there, attracting a leading 39.7% of handle at BetMGM, followed by the Tigers, who have 15.7% of the money and a leading 24.5% of the tickets.
Total support
One of the best indicators of how the betting markets feel about a team is simply by looking at their win totals for the season. Going into the 2026 campaign, a few trends have emerged.
While the Dodgers, unsurprisingly, have the league’s highest win total at 102.5, per DraftKings lines, many bettors are balking at that high number, with Egeland saying that less than 20% of tickets and handle in that specific market are on the over at 103.5 with BetMGM.
Instead, bettors are looking to teams such as the Orioles, who made some very splashy moves this offseason by signing first baseman Pete Alonso and trading for starting pitcher Shane Baz. Those transactions and public support pushed them from 77.5 wins in November to 86.5, according to Caesars lines. DraftKings also reports robust support for Baltimore.
The Mariners have also been popular in the win-total markets, even at their high total of 89.5 wins, per DraftKings. BetMGM took a big $450,000 wager on Seattle to attain at least 90 wins at -110 odds, as well as a $300,000 bet to win the AL West at +100 odds.
However, some of the best opportunities for win totals are for teams with low expectations. Going into the 2026 campaign, those teams are mainly the Pirates and the White Sox, who sit at 78.5 wins and 67.5 wins, respectively, per DraftKings lines. Chicago has the second-shortest odds to have the worst record in the league at +700, but that still far outpaces the Rockies at -400.
On the flip side, the St. Louis Cardinals‘ under has been hammered by bettors amid a weak offseason that included minimal acquisitions and the trading away of third baseman Nolan Arenado. Biggio noted that Caesars opened the Cards at 75.5 wins and moved them down to 69.5, among the lowest in the league.
“You always have high regard for that organization, and they never seem to have a bad year,” he said. “Well, this year, the bettors are definitely down on the Cardinals.”
From WBC to MVP?
The 2026 MLB preseason looked a lot different than most years with many star players competing in the World Baseball Classic. The international tournament put playoff-style baseball on display early in the year and gave a jolt to baseball betting that exceeded all expectations from bookmakers.
“The World Baseball Classic did really well,” Avello said. “The handle on the games was much better than I expected it would be, and it’s a good prelude into baseball.”
The WBC also put a spotlight on several well-known players, as well as some lesser-known players, giving them attention in the awards futures markets.
Near the top of that list is Boston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony, who starred for Team USA and has fifth-best 14-1 odds to win the AL MVP at DraftKings. BetMGM reports significant ticket share backing him, as well as other Team USA stars Bobby Witt Jr. (+500) and Gunnar Henderson (15-1). Caesars’ Biggio also mentions some outsized action on Nick Kurtz, who is creeping up into the favorite conversation with 15-1 odds at DraftKings.
On the NL side, Juan Soto (+900), Ronald Acuna Jr. (10-1) and Bryce Harper (25-1) have also received some attention from bettors after some big moments in the WBC. But, as it tends to go with the Dodgers, they’re all chasing Shohei Ohtani at an astounding -145. BetMGM reports a huge 65.2% of the handle backing the Japanese superstar to win his fifth MVP award.
While the AL Cy Young betting is spread out across several different arms, there is little debating who everyone’s favorite is for the NL Cy Young. Paul Skenes, fresh off a Rookie of the Year and a Cy Young in consecutive seasons, is the favorite in the market at +210, and Avello says bettors are not holding back on betting him. At BetMGM, the phenomenal 23-year-old leads NL Cy Young betting by both bets and handle.
