When the Caesars Sportsbook in Las Vegas released their updated 2020 World Series odds on April 16th, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees were +300 co-favorites to win their respective leagues. Since then online sports betting in Canada and the United States have moved the numbers making the Dodgers the new odds on favorite to win the 2020 World Series – provided the season is played.
Negotiations between the league and the MLB Players Association started on May 12, almost two months after the league suspended spring training and the start of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then the two sides have struggled to come to terms over both the season format and more importantly, player compensation.
Initially, the league submitted a plan for an 82-game season, while the players union plan was a 114-game schedule, with a regular-season that would have stretched through October, and ended with a November playoff and World Series. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the league rejected the player’s proposal and is not planning to make a counteroffer.
MLB rejected the union’s proposal for a 114-game season and said it would not send a counter, sources tell The Athletic. The league said it has started talks with owners about playing a shorter season without fans, and that it is ready to discuss additional ideas with the union.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 3, 2020
Fan Graphs ran an interesting analysis of how a shortened season would impact playoff odds. They made their projections based on if the world had frozen in place, without factoring in the pandemic, with a June 1 start date. In that scenario the gave the Dodgers an 18.5% chance to with the world series, which converts to approximately +525, making them less than attractive at the current +350 price.
Online sports betting in Canada has the following odds.
Opening and Current Odds to Win the 2020 World Series
| Team | Open | Current |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | +800 | +350 |
| New York Yankees | +600 | +400 |
| Houston Astros | +600 | +800 |
| Atlanta Braves | +1200 | +1400 |
| Washington Nationals | +1500 | +1400 |
| St Louis Cardinals | +2000 | +1800 |
| Minnesota Twins | +2500 | +2000 |
| New York Mets | +2500 | +2000 |
| Cincinnati Reds | +4500 | +2500 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | +3000 | +2500 |
| Chicago Cubs | +2500 | +3000 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | +2000 | +3000 |
| Chicago White Sox | +7500 | +3500 |
| Cleveland Indians | +1500 | +3500 |
| Los Angeles Angels | +5000 | +3500 |
| Oakland Athletics | +3000 | +3500 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | +6000 | +4500 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | +3000 | +4500 |
| Boston Red Sox | +1200 | +5000 |
| Kansas City Royals | +10000 | +5000 |
| San Diego Padres | +6000 | +6000 |
| Texas Rangers | +8000 | +6500 |
| Baltimore Orioles | +10000 | +12500 |
| Colorado Rockies | +10000 | +12500 |
| Miami Marlins | +10000 | +12500 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | +10000 | +12500 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | +20000 | +35000 |
| San Francisco Giants | +10000 | +35000 |
| Seattle Mariners | +20000 | +35000 |
| Detroit Tigers | +100000 | +100000 |
It’s important to note that these Canadian sportsbook odds come with much uncertainty built-in. The length of the season, the impacts the layoff, even how the coronavirus testing is handled.
What we do know today is that with the hiatus now in its third month, even the best-case scenario won’t see baseball coming back until at least mid-July. Should negotiations drag on much longer, the entire season would be put in jeopardy.
The last time there was no World Series was 1994 due to the major league baseball players strike that ended the season on August 12, 1994. That left a lot of fans with a sour taste in their mouths. With everything that’s been going on in the world in 2020, it’s pretty certain that everybody hopes this season will be played out in one form or another.
