Odds To Win American League Pennant

As usual, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are expected to contend for the American League pennant. Let’s take a look at the odds and whether or not anyone else has a chance to compete, with odds compliments of 5Dimes.

Boston Red Sox
AL odds: +200

Boston finished second in AL run scoring last year; expect it to finish first after adding Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez in the offseason. The biggest question mark is pitching. John Lackey was a bust and Josh Beckett had the worst season of his career. If those two can bounce back, they’ll join Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz in a formidable rotation.

New York Yankees
AL odds: +350

The Yankees got worse in the offseason after watching Andy Pettitte retire and failing to sign Cliff Lee. The Bronx Bombers can’t be counted out, though, as their lineup returns intact after leading the American League in runs and finishing third in homers. If the Yanks are going to make a run at the pennant, though, they need a comeback year from A.J. Burnett and a transition to the next level by Phil Hughes.

Texas Rangers
AL odds: +800

Defending the American League title is going to be tough for Texas, which has some gaping holes in the rotation. The Rangers entered spring training with three holes in the rotation, and there’s bound to be some shuffling there all season. The club will once again half to lean on an explosive offense to carry the day.

Chicago White Sox
AL odds: +900

The pressure is on in Chicago, where the White Sox are fielding an all-time franchise high in payroll this year. Pitching will be the key to success—in particularly, Jake Peavy. Peavy is slated to open the year fifth in the rotation so the team can control his workload after a brutal injury last season. If he stays healthy and pitches like he’s capable of, the White Sox leapfrog Texas in the AL pennant race.

Detroit Tigers
AL odds: +1000

The rotation has a very high ceiling, most notably Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer; it wouldn’t be surprising if they combined for 40 wins this season. After finishing eighth in AL run scoring last year, Detroit should bounce back with Magglio Ordonez healthy. He was limited to just 84 games last season. A yearlong 3-4 combo of Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera (34-plus homers in four straight seasons) is going to drive in a ton of runs.

Best of the rest

Minnesota Twins
AL odds: +1000

The Twins could sneak up on people. Justin Morneau is back after missing half the season with a concussion, while Joe Mauer looks healthy after offseason knee surgery. Minnesota can hit.

Tampa Bay Rays
AL odds: +1100

The Rays are dangerously close to rebuilding. Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett, Matt Garza and Rafael Soriano and others are gone. Stay away.