World Series Odds: Cubs, Red Sox, Astros Still The Favorites As Rosters Expand?

The arrival of starting pitcher Cole Hamels and infielder Daniel Murphy to the Chicago Cubs roster might be enough to return Joe Maddon's squad back to the World Series.

According to betting site Vegas Insider, the Cubs are 1/4 favorites to win the National League Central, the 3/1 favorites to win the NL pennant and have the fourth-best odds (8/1) of winning the World Series.

The Cubs had 3/1 odds to win the NL before adding Murphy, but they have distanced themselves a bit from the competition. On Aug. 12, the Dodgers had the second-best odds at 16/5, but now the second-best odds belong to the Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks — both at 5/1 odds.

National League Betting Odds (Vegas Insider)

Chicago Cubs, 3/1

Arizona Diamondbacks, 5/1

Los Angeles Dodgers, 5/1

Atlanta Braves, 6/1

Colorado Rockies, 8/1

St. Louis Cardinals, 8/1

Philadelphia Phillies, 9/1

Milwaukee Brewers, 10/1

Oddsmakers have more faith in the American League leaders. The Boston Red Sox (4/1), defending champion Houston Astros (19/4) and New York Yankees (29/4) all have better odds of winning the World Series than the Cubs.

Boston has the strongest shot of winning the AL at 9/5 odds, but are followed close behind by Houston (11/4). The Yankees (15/4) still trail the Red Sox by 7.5 games in the AL East but appear to be a lock for the wild-card. The Cleveland Indians (9/2) should have little trouble wrapping up the AL Central.

The surprise team in the AL is the Oakland Athletics, who are in a tight race with the Astros for the AL West crown. The A's, arguably the biggest Cinderella team in the AL, have 6/1 odds to win the pennant and 12/1 odds to win the World Series.

American League Betting Odds (Vegas Insider)

Boston Red Sox, 9/5

Houston Astros, 11/4

New York Yankees, 15/4

Cleveland Indians, 9/2

Oakland Athletics, 6/1

Seattle Mariners, 22/1

The Philadelphia Phillies have seen the biggest dropoff despite a tight race with the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Philadelphia slipped from 5/1 odds to win the NL pennant to 9/1 odds. Gabe Kapler's squad is currently a 22/1 longshot to win the World Series.

But it's been a turnaround season for the Phillies, who opened with the 18th-best odds (80/1) to win the World Series. By late July, the Phillies had the seventh-best odds to win the World Series at 16/1.

Two intriguing teams are the St. Louis Cardinals (16/1) and Colorado Rockies (18/1). Both clubs seemed to be counted out of the postseason due to more established teams in their division, yet both have a decent chance of capturing the division crown.

World Series Betting Odds (Vegas Insider)

Boston Red Sox, 4/1

Houston Astros, 19/4

New York Yankees, 29/4

Chicago Cubs, 8/1

Cleveland Indians, 8/1

Los Angeles Dodgers, 10/1

Oakland Athletics, 12/1

Arizona Diamondbacks, 14/1

Atlanta Braves, 16/1

St. Louis Cardinals, 16/1

Colorado Rockies, 18/1

Philadelphia Phillies, 22/1

Milwaukee Brewers, 25/1

Seattle Mariners, 50/1

Washington Nationals, 50/1