World Series 2016 Betting Odds: Cubs, Giants, Red Sox, Dodgers Among MLB Favorites

Jake Arrieta Chicago Cubs — Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs are 2016 World Series favorites. Getty

The top MLB free agents have been signed, and pitchers and catchers are less than a month away from reporting to Spring Training. With a pretty clear picture of what each roster will look like to start the season, a few teams have emerged as 2016 World Series favorites.

After losing in last year’s NLCS, the Chicago Cubs have the best championship odds. Chicago won 97 regular-season games, defeating the 100-win St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. Along with returning a core young of power hitters and a pitching staff led by NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, Chicago signed two of the best free agents available. They handed out the longest contract of the offseason by giving Jason Heyward an eight-year deal worth $184 million, and they signed Ben Zobrist to replace Starlin Castro, who the Cubs traded to the New York Yankees.

Even though they didn’t make the 2015 playoffs, the San Francisco Giants are the second World Series favorites. The Giants won just 84 games after winning the 2014 World Series, but they’ve won the title every other year since 2010. Adding Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Denard Span, San Francisco has spent the most money on free agents this offseason.

The NL West is home to a few top World Series contenders. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks have the same championship odds after star pitcher Zack Greinke went from L.A. to Arizona as a free agent.

The Boston Red Sox stand alone as the favorites to win the American League. Boston is doing all they can to bounce back from two consecutive last-place finishes. Not only did they give David Price a $217 million contract, the team acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres in a trade. The Red Sox had one of the league’s best offenses last year, and improvements in their pitching staff should make them a top contender in 2016.

The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets both have a good chance to get back to the World Series, though they aren’t among the favorites. They are tied for the sixth-best odds in baseball. Following their championship season, the Royals re-signed Alex Gordon and replaced Cueto with Ian Kennedy. The Mets let Daniel Murphy sign with the Washington Nationals, but they kept Yoenis Cespedes in one of the most surprising moves of the offseason.

The Detroit Tigers spent the most money in the AL by adding Justin Upton and Jordan Zimmerman, but 14 MLB teams have better World Series odds. The Yankees made a splash by trading for closer Aroldis Chapman, but they are the only team that didn’t sign one free agent to a major-league contract. Nine teams have better title odds than New York.

Below are the 2016 World Series odds for all 30 teams, courtesy of Bovada.lv.

Chicago Cubs +400

San Francisco Giants +600

Boston Red Sox +900

Washington Nationals +1400

Los Angeles Dodgers +1400

Toronto Blue Jays +1600

Kansas City Royals +1600

New York Mets +1600

Houston Astros +1800

St. Louis Cardinals +2000

Pittsburgh Pirates +2000