Houston won the trade deadline and a leg up in baseball’s arms race Wednesday by acquiring pitchers Zack Greinke and Aaron Sanchez, bumping the Astros to co-favorites for the 2019 World Series.
Houston climbed over the New York Yankees as the leading favorite to win the American League, and pulled even with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the National League pick since the first month of the season — according to PointsBet.com, Bovada and Caesars Palace.
FanDuel Sportsbook elevated Houston to the betting favorite at 2-1 over the Dodgers (3-1) and Yankees (5-1).
The Astros spent the past month behind the Yankees, who lead the East by a comfortable margin. New York didn’t make any noteworthy moves on Wednesday or leading up to the deadline, but could still get ace Luis Severino back in the next two months.
With Greinke and Sanchez as part of their rotation — stellar already with a starting staff 3.68 ERA — the Astros went from +450 to +275. The Yankees went from +300 to +400.
The Dodgers added Jedd Gyorko to a team leading the National League West by 15 games. There’s more good news for the club that lost to the Astros in the 2017 World Series: top pitching prospect Dustin May will debut Friday. The Dodgers lead MLB with a 3.06 ERA from their starting rotation.
In addition to the Yankees, the Cubs dropped in 2019 World Series odds from +800 to +900 at Caesars Palace.
The Atlanta Braves acquired closer Shane Greene from the Detroit Tigers and increased their championship odds from +1200 to +1000.
Defending World Series champion Boston stood pat at the deadline and dropped to the 10th-best odds, equating to 30-1 and down from their 25-1 chances in July.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
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