Spring training is winding down, and Opening Day in Major League Baseball is approaching. With time running out before the first pitch, now is the ideal spot to pick apart the league, division by division, and make MLB predictions about the upcoming season.
Today we take on the American League East, a division that sent three teams to the playoffs in 2022 and saw four of the five finish with winning records. The surprisingly bad Boston Red Sox were the only team to fail to produce a .500 season. Looking ahead at the 2023 World Series lines, the AL East has the second-best MLB lines to win at +300, behind the NL East at +275.
Let’s break down each team’s MLB odds to win the World Series, season win totals, and a basic rundown of what to expect from them in 2023.
Toronto Blue Jays
- Odds of Winning the World Series | +1400
- Win Total O/U | 91½
- Odds to Make the Playoffs | -265
The Toronto Blue Jays made the postseason two of the previous three years but came away empty-handed. They haven’t won a single playoff game since 2016, and after losing in the Wild Card round in 2022, the team made several off-season additions.
Toronto bolstered its rotation by adding Chris Bassit to complement the four returning starters. Alex Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Usei Kikuchi are the other four starters expected in 2023.
On offense, the Jays return six starters, including superstars and second-generation players Vladimir GuerreroJr. and Bo Bichette. New additions to the team are Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Belt and Daulton Varsho. They give the Blue Jays some extra punch at the plate and, especially in the case of Varsho, make them a lot better on defense. Therefore, the Blue Jays are a safe bet with their current MLB playoff odds to make the postseason. Whether they can make it past the Wild Card round is another story.
Baltimore Orioles
- Odds of Winning the World Series | +6500
- Win Total O/U | 77
- Odds to Make the Playoffs | +350
After a comprehensive rebuilding effort, the Baltimore Orioles have been a popular dark-horse team for MLB betting futures. But there is still work to do on this roster before we’re ready to trust the O’s with our hard-earned money.
The good news is that Baltimore has a couple of guys in Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson who have the potential to develop into franchise-defining talents. But, as we know in baseball, they could just as quickly struggle and disappear from the league altogether. Only time will tell.
The rotation is far less exciting for Baltimore, with three mediocre pitchers returning to action. The best of the bunch is John Means, but the MLB news on him after undergoing Tommy John surgery is a return after the All-Star break. The Orioles also added Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin in the offseason.
The O’s are heading in the right direction but may be a year off from putting all the pieces together.
I think I’m in love with Adley Rutschman’s swing
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) August 20, 2022
Tampa Bay Rays
- Odds of Winning the World Series | +2200
- Win Total O/U | 89½
- Odds to Make the Playoffs | -165
The Tampa Bay Rays followed up a solid 2022 season by suffering through a very slow offseason, missing on several free-agent targets. Therefore, this lineup will look the same as the one from last year that ranked near the bottom of the MLB in OPS.
Pitching is where the Rays should excel, with Shane McClanahan and Tyler Glasnow ranking among the top 10 in pitching last season. It’s not all good news, with Glasnow expected to miss significant time due to an oblique injury. As of this writing, the superstar hasn’t resumed throwing. Tampa Bay added Zach Eflin to the group, but they will struggle while Glasnow is on the shelf.
Boston Red Sox
- Odds of Winning the World Series | +6500
- Win Total O/U | 78½
- Odds to Make the Playoffs | +300
The Boston Red Sox responded to their terrible 2022 season by remaining active during the offseason. The franchise re-signed Rafael Devers while adding Masataka Yoshida and Justin Turner. Manager Alex Cora recently said he expects Yoshida to hit cleanup after signing a five-year, $90 million deal out of Japan. With Devers and Turner hitting ahead of him, Yoshida will see a ton of RBI chances in 2023. As a career .327/.421/.539 hitter, the team expects a lot from their new outfielder.
The Red Sox rotation is harder to pin down than the offense, with several question marks. Chris Sale is immensely talented but pitched just five innings last season. Meanwhile, expected No. 4 starter James Paxton has just 22 innings pitched in his previous three seasons combined. Durability isn’t the only issue, as the Red Sox are also expected to try and move Garrett Whitlock from the bullpen to the rotation.
With such a volatile starting rotation, betting online for the Red Sox to go over their win total is a risk I won’t be taking.
New York Yankees
- Odds of Winning the World Series | +750
- Win Total O/U | 94½
- Odds to Make the Playoffs | -450
The New York Yankees head into the 2023 season as the defending AL East champions with 99 wins the previous year. The Bronx Bombers are favored to win the division again and second in World Series odds to their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets. This time, however, the Yankees don’t have the highest payroll in town.
At this point if Anthony Volpe isn’t the Opening Day shortstop for the New York Yankees we all riot.
What more does the guy have to do?! He’s a star!
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) March 12, 2023
It’s been a long time since the Yankees won their last World Series in 2009, but the franchise is teeming with confidence entering 2023.
Adding Carlos Rodon to an already potent pitching rotation adds a lot of firepower to this team. Along with Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Domingo German and Nestor Cortes, New York is expected to have one of the best rotations in baseball. Meanwhile, on offense, the Yankees return nine starters from last year. The biggest name on that list is Aaron Judge. After some tense moments, the Yankees re-signed Judge to a 9-year $360 million contract.
Injuries could always derail this train, but as of now, the Yankees are the clear favorites to repeat, and a decent MLB bet to go over 94½ wins for the second year in a row.
