Who’s favored to win the American League? What does Luis Severino’s injury do to the Yankees’ odds? Eckel breaks it down
It’s not even March, the Yankees are down two starting pitchers and their odds are winning the American League has increased.
When word broke that Luis Severino needed Tommy John Surgery, Tuesday, the Yanks odds jumped from 8-5 to 2-1 at Parx Sportsbook. The team will already be without starting pitcher James Paxton, who had back surgery, until May at the earliest.
The Yankees, at 2-1, remain the favorite to win the American League and win their first pennant since 2009 when they won their 27th World Series. Losing Severino on top of Paxton makes it a lot more difficult.
Free agent addition Gerrit Cole, who better hope bad things, or injuries, don’t come in threes, is the ace of the staff and Masahiro Tanaka moves into the No. 2 role. J.A. Happ, coming off a rough 2019 and slated as No. 5 less than a month ago, is now No. 3.
The final two spots in the rotation are now between the likes of Jordan Montgomery, Mike King, Jonathan Loaisiga, and top rookie prospects Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia.
Still the Yankees remain the slight favorites to win the American League. Here are the odds for the entire league according to Parx Sportsbook:
Yankees 2-1
Astros 5-2
Twins 8-1
Rays 9-1
Red Sox 11-1
Indians 11-1
As 13-1
White Sox 16-1
Angels 20-1
Rangers 50-1
Blue Jays 50-1
Royals 250-1
Mariners 250-1
Orioles 350-1
Tigers 350-1
Take-Aways: The Red Sox are still the fifth best odds, but only third in the AL East. I think there should be a larger gap between them and Tampa Bay. …Oakland could be an interesting choice at 13-1. …That could be a good battle for worst team in the league between Baltimore and Detroit.
Best Bets: Despite the injured pitchers the Yanks might not be a bad play at 2-1 and if h odds go any higher than it’s certainly worth the risk. The only other teams I’d consider are the Rays at 9-1 and the Twins at 8-1. I wouldn’t touch the Astros with a 10-foot garbage can. There is no way MLB wants them anywhere near the World Series.
Longshot Worth a Look: The Angels (20-1) might have the two best players in the game in Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon. They also have one of the best managers in Joe Maddon. If they can put together any kind of pitching, look out.