After winning the World Series last season, the Astros enter the new season tied for the highest projected win total. Houston won 106 games last season, so as long as it doesn't regress by 10 games, over bettors will cash their tickets. The Astros lost Cy Young winner
Justin Verlander to
the Mets, but they have plenty of depth in their starting rotation. They let Yuli Gurriel walk and replaced him with Jose Abreu.
Houston enters as a co-favorite to win the World Series at +650 odds.
The Dodgers led all of baseball last year with 111 wins in the regular season. However, they've seen some key pieces depart in the offseason.
Trea Turner,
Justin Turner,
Cody Bellinger,
Tyler Anderson and
Craig Kimbrel are all gone. They've been replaced by J.D. Martinez,
Miguel Rojas and
Noah Syndergaard. Did the Dodgers get 14 wins worse?
The Yankees were on pace to break the single-season wins record halfway through last season, but they fell off tremendously in the second half of the year and didn't even eclipse 100 wins. They took care of business in the offseason by retaining
Aaron Judge. They improved their rotation by signing Carlos Rodon as well.
The Yankees are an even-money favorite to win the AL East.
Last season, the Braves basically stopped losing games in the second half of the season. They erased a slow start and a massive Mets lead in the NL East en route to a 101-win season. Over the offseason, the Braves improved at catcher, turning
William Contreras into Sean Murphy. However, the team lost
Dansby Swanson,
Kenley Jansen and
Adam Duvall.
5. New York Mets (over/under 94.5 wins)
The Mets posted a 101-win season last year but didn't win their division and got only three playoff games to show for their superb regular season. New York spent the offseason revamping its pitching staff. Jacob deGrom,
Taijuan Walker and
Chris Bassitt are gone, replaced by Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana and Kodai Senga.
Last season, the Padres won 89 games. This time around, they'll have a full season of
Juan Soto. On top of that, they'll receive Fernando Tatis Jr. back from suspension in late April. Oh yeah, they also signed
Xander Bogaerts in the offseason. This might just be the most talented team in baseball on paper.
The Blue Jays won 92 games in 2022, and oddsmakers are expecting a similar season in 2023 from the team up north. The team upgraded the starting rotation by bringing in Chris Bassitt. They switched some pieces around in the outfield, trading away
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez while bringing in
Kevin Kiermaier and
Daulton Varsho.
The Cardinals didn't make many changes coming off a 93-win season in 2022. Yadier Molina retired, and the team filled that vacancy by signing
Willson Contreras. Will
Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado post MVP-level seasons again?
The Phillies snuck into the playoffs last season with 87 wins and then went on a run. They eliminated the Cardinals, Braves and Padres before falling to Houston in the World Series. The Phillies also made one of the biggest moves of the offseason in signing Trea Turner. Despite all of that, they are
+300 to win the NL East, a distant third-best in odds behind the Braves and Mets.
The Mariners snapped a 21-year playoff drought last season as they won 90 games. They swept Toronto in the wild-card round before getting swept by Houston in the ALDS. The team is built around reigning Rookie of the Year Julio Rodriguez and made some moves around him this past offseason.
Jesse Winker,
Adam Frazier and
Mitch Haniger have all departed, while Teoscar Hernandez,
Kolten Wong and A.J. Pollock were bought in as reinforcements.
Tampa Bay won just 86 games last season. However, the Rays eclipsed 90 wins in each of the three full seasons before that and were on pace for 109 wins in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. 2022 was a down year for the Rays, but this is one of those teams that somehow always figures things out with a bunch of lesser-known players.
Zach Eflin was probably their biggest offseason acquisition.
The Guardians shocked the league last season by winning the AL Central. Jose Ramirez played at a near-MVP level while players such as
Amed Rosario and
Steven Kwan broke out, leading them to a 92-win season. Josh Bell was brought in to add some pop, and with baseball's new rule changes expected to favor athletic and contact-making teams such as Cleveland, oddsmakers are expecting the Guardians to have another good season.
Cleveland is the co-favorite to win the AL Central alongside the
Chicago White Sox.
The Brewers were sizable favorites to win the NL Central last season, but their offense just wasn't good enough. They won 86 games, finishing a game behind Philadelphia for the final playoff spot in the National League. The rotation remains elite, led by
Corbin Burnes. The team acquired Jesse Winker in the offseason. Will he provide the spark the offense so desperately needs?
14. Chicago White Sox (over/under 83.5 wins)
The biggest disappointment in baseball last season might have been the White Sox. They were viewed as World Series contenders, but instead they missed the playoffs and finished with just 81 wins. Tony La Russa is gone, which feels like addition by subtraction. The team replaced Jose Abreu and
Johnny Cueto with
Mike Clevinger and
Andrew Benintendi. Will the Sox rebound this year?
After they hung around near .500 last season with 78 wins, oddsmakers are expecting a similar season from the Twins again this season. They traded away
Luis Arraez and Gio Urshela. They brought in
Pablo Lopez, Christian Vazquez and Joey Gallo.
Carlos Correa also returns to Minnesota after failed physicals with the Giants and Mets.
16. Texas Rangers (over/under 82.5 wins)
The Rangers made heavy investments in
Corey Seager and
Marcus Semien in the winter of 2021. Those investments resulted in just 68 wins last season. They invested in the pitching side of the equation this past offseason, dropping a major bag on Jacob deGrom while also signing
Nathan Eovaldi. If both can stay healthy, Texas has a chance of taking a major step forward this season.
Will we finally see the duo of
Shohei Ohtani and
Mike Trout in the playoffs? Oddsmakers seem bearish on that idea, though they do expect the Angels to be better than the 73 wins they posted last season. Los Angeles acquired Gio Urshela,
Brandon Drury and
Hunter Renfroe to bolster the lineup around their two studs. Tyler Anderson was signed to boost the rotation. Will things finally come together for the Angels?
The Giants won 107 games in 2021. They followed that with just 81 wins in 2022. Which version was the real Giants? Oddsmakers clearly think it's the latter. Carlos Rodon has left for the Yankees, and it appears the Giants will turn to
Sean Manaea and Ross Stripling to try to patch that hole.
Brandon Belt and
Evan Longoria also departed, and they've been replaced on the roster by Mitch Haniger and Michael Conforto.
Baltimore came out of nowhere to win 83 games last season in a year when many expected the O's to be in the basement. After acquiring
Kyle Gibson,
Cole Irvin and Adam Frazier, oddsmakers expect the Orioles to remain competitive but maybe take a small step backward this season.
20. Chicago Cubs (over/under 77.5 wins)
After winning 74 games in 2022, the Cubs had quite the active offseason. Willson Contreras departed for St. Louis and was replaced by
Tucker Barnhart. Chicago also added Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger,
Jameson Taillon,
Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer. This team infused some talent into the roster, but will it be enough for them to
improve four games on last year?
21. Boston Red Sox (over/under 77.5 wins)
Boston finished with 78 wins in 2022, and oddsmakers are expecting a similar number this upcoming season. However, that's certainly not due to a static roster. Gone are Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Wacha. Trevor Story is also expected to miss a large part of the season. The replacements brought in include Adalberto Mondesi, Justin Turner, Masataka Yoshida, Adam Duvall, Corey Kluber and Kenley Jansen. It'll certainly be a different looking group.
22. Miami Marlins (over/under 75.5 wins)
The Marlins of recent years have had solid pitching and little to no offense to support it. That was highlighted by the team winning just 69 games in a year when Sandy Alcantara won a Cy Young. The Marlins attempted to fix their offense by trading Pablo Lopez for Luis Arraez. Jean Segura was also bought in for some middle-of-the-lineup support. Let's see if the Marlins can score enough runs to win some more games this season.
23. Arizona Diamondbacks (over/under 75.5 wins)
The Diamondbacks won 74 games last season and seem to have improved their roster going into the 2023 season. Daulton Varsho was sent to Toronto in a package that returned Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Arizona also brought in 2020 Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis and Evan Longoria to bolster the lineup. Andrew Chafin provides a late-inning option in the bullpen.
24. Detroit Tigers (over/under 69.5 wins)
We've reached the part of this list where the teams were pretty bad last year, and it's hard to envision a world in which much changes. Detroit won 66 games in 2022, and its biggest offseason acquisition was probably Michael Lorenzen. Maybe the young talent all takes a collective step forward and surprises us?
25. Kansas City Royals (over/under 68.5 wins)
Kansas City won 65 games last season and then shipped often-injured-but-potentially-explosive shortstop Adalberto Mondesi to Boston. Its offseason acquisitions include Ryan Yarbrough and the clearly washed up Aroldis Chapman.
26. Colorado Rockies (over/under 67.5 wins)
After winning 68 games last season, the Rockies did basically nothing this offseason. They let Jose Iglesias walk and brought in reliever Pierce Johnson.
27. Pittsburgh Pirates (over/under 67.5 wins)
Pittsburgh is coming off a 100-loss season in 2022. The Pirates shuffled out Kevin Newman and replaced him with Ji-Man Choi. They signed Andrew McCutchen and Rich Hill for some veteran leadership, but they are hardly difference-makers in the year 2023.
28. Cincinnati Reds (over/under 65.5 wins)
Cincinnati did most of its selling prior to last season, which resulted in a 62-win season in 2022 for the Reds. They parted ways with Mike Moustakas and Donovan Solano. Wil Myers and Kevin Newman were brought in as replacements, while Luke Weaver should eat some innings for a young pitching staff.
29. Washington Nationals (over/under 59.5 wins)
The Nationals were the worst team in baseball last season, finishing with just 55 wins. They're projected to finish in the basement again this season. They parted ways with arguably their two most feared hitters in Nelson Cruz and Luke Voit. They've been replaced by Dominic Smith and Jeimer Candelario.
30. Oakland Athletics (over/under 59.5 wins)
After trading almost everyone of value last offseason, Oakland finished that project this offseason, moving Sean Murphy to Atlanta. J.J. Bleday is an intriguing prospect, and Kyle Muller showed potential in the minors last season, but there's no reason to expect
