On Monday, just before the news of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Alex Reyes’ season-ending elbow injury, Bovada released its newest World Series odds. The Cardinals have bounced back to their off-season-opening 22/1 odds of winning it all after having slipped to 25/1 in December.
However, that may not be good enough.
Going straight by the odds – which admittedly are set for betting rather than predictive purposes – the three National League Division winners would be projected as the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers with the Wild Cards being the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
If the real world results follow the new betting lines, the Cardinals would barely miss out, as the sixth-best squad in the five-team NL playoff race – same as how St. Louis’ 2016 concluded.
The defending champion Chicago Cubs have a new overall co-leader, according to the sports book. In the view of the odds-maker, the Boston Red Sox, who fortified their rotation this winter and feature the top prospect in baseball in outfielder Andrew Benintendi, have steadily improved their standing since November, while the Cubs have slid slightly. Both are currently 9/2 favorites to win the 2017 World Series.
In the table below, you can see how the odds have shifted in recent months.
| Odds to win 2017 World Series | 11/3/16 | 12/7/16 | 2/13/17 |
| Chicago Cubs | 7/2 | 15/4 | 9/2 |
| Boston Red Sox | 9/1 | 11/2 | 9/2 |
| Cleveland Indians | 14/1 | 12/1 | 8/1 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 9/1 | 14/1 | 10/1 |
| Washington Nationals | 12/1 | 9/1 | 10/1 |
| San Francisco Giants | 14/1 | 14/1 | 12/1 |
| Houston Astros | 16/1 | 12/1 | 14/1 |
| New York Mets | 14/1 | 18/1 | 18/1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 14/1 | 20/1 | 20/1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 22/1 | 25/1 | 22/1 |
| New York Yankees | 25/1 | 14/1 | 25/1 |
| Texas Rangers | 16/1 | 25/1 | 28/1 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 22/1 | 28/1 | 33/1 |
| Detroit Tigers | 22/1 | 28/1 | 33/1 |
| Kansas City Royals | 33/1 | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| Seattle Mariners | 25/1 | 25/1 | 33/1 |
| Colorado Rockies | 66/1 | 75/1 | 40/1 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 28/1 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| Chicago White Sox | 40/1 | 66/1 | 75/1 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 50/1 | 75/1 | 75/1 |
| Miami Marlins | 40/1 | 66/1 | 75/1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 66/1 | 75/1 | 75/1 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 100/1 | 100/1 | 100/1 |
| Atlanta Braves | 100/1 | 75/1 | 100/1 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 100/1 | 100/1 | 150/1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 75/1 | 100/1 | 150/1 |
| Minnesota Twins | 100/1 | 100/1 | 150/1 |
| Oakland Athletics | 75/1 | 100/1 | 150/1 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 100/1 | 100/1 | 150/1 |
| San Diego Padres | 100/1 | 100/1 | 150/1 |
Follow me on Twitter.