The lockout is over, free agency has cleared and now Opening Day is coming up on Thursday. There isn’t any better a time to take a look into some futures bets now that we know what the teams look like. With spring in the air, let’s take a look at preseason futures before first pitch is thrown
2022 World Series Favorites
It feels like all decade long, the Los Angeles Dodgers (+500) have opened as World Series favorites. They are currently the chalk and it’s no surprise why. They lost in the World Series last season but won the year before. Last year’s team is back with upgrades. They re-signed Clayton Kershaw, so that the dynamic trio of Julio Urias and Walker Buehler could play out in 2022. They also managed to sign Freddie Freeman to a monstrous deal, giving them one of baseball’s prized free agents.
The New York Yankees (+900) are the second team here. This group was able to make a few big moves during the offseason that caught everybody’s attention. They were able to acquire both Josh Donaldson and Isaiah Kiner-Falefa from the Minnesota Twins. On top of that, the Yankees didn’t’ even lose out on Anthony Rizzo in free agency as they kept him.
One surprising favorite is the Toronto Blue Jays (+900). This squad may not have been able to generate much success throughout the past couple of years, but the roster looks good right now. Their offense is stacked with guys like Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr and George Springer. Plus, they have a solid pitching rotation that features Jose Berrios and Hyun-Jin Ryu and free agent addition Kevin Gausman. Toronto may surprise a lot of people in 2022.
2022 World Series Longshots
The Chicago White Sox (+1200) rolled through the American League Central last year but got tripped up in the playoffs. Chicago did lose out on Carlos Rodon in free agency, so they will definitely need to find a way to replace him. However, they found a way to keep their offense together and their bullpen is one of the strongest in the league. If they are able to make it into the postseason, they would be a very tough out.
Next is the Philadelphia Phillies (+2500). The Phillies didn’t hold back in the offseason because they really felt like a championship window could potentially open up for them. They were able to sign Nick Castellanos along with Kyle Schwarber. Each player is coming off career years and could give Bryce Harper the support he needs.
Finally, we come to the Los Angeles Angels (+3500). Whenever you get a team with this much star power on the roster, you have to imagine that they will find a way to be competitive. We know that they have Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani – two of the game’s best players – but they made a number of key pitching moves that could help. Noah Syndergaard was added to the rotation and Archie Bradley and Ryan Tepera to the bullpen. We’ll see if that’s enough to elevate this team but if the trio of Trout-Ohtani-Anthony Rendon stay healthy, this could be a surprise contender.