Champagne still wet the visiting team’s locker room in Minute Maid Park in Houston, and already there is a ‘favorite’ to win the 2022 World Series.
2022 World Series odds: Dodgers enter MLB offseason as favorites; Astros, Braves ahead of Yankees https://t.co/hxcnKaDQM3
— CBS Sports MLB (@CBSSportsMLB) November 3, 2021
Already?
The Atlanta Braves are the 2021 World Series champions. Before Braves fans on social media could change their social media profile photos, the odds for next year’s World Series winners were already discussed. If anyone was uncertain about the level of penetration sports gambling has made into the sports media world, that is washed away. The Dodgers are often picked as favorites when it’s “too early to tell,” so this is not surprising.
What Dodgers?
The mystery of the Dodgers 2022 roster is immense. Here are the Dodgers whose futures are uncertain.
RHP Trevor Bauer (legal issues, opt-out), LHP Danny Duffy, RHP Shane Greene, LHP Cole Hamels, RHP Kenley Jansen, RHP Joe Kelly (club option), LHP Clayton Kershaw, RHP Corey Knebel, RHP Jimmy Nelson, 1B Albert Pujols, RHP Max Scherzer, SS Corey Seager, IF/OF Chris Taylor.
That is that a monstrous list of names. It includes more than a few fan favorites, and even a possible “greatest Dodger of all time” in Clayton Kershaw. It speaks to the confidence in the Dodgers front office that oddsmakers pick the Dodgers to win even without a starting rotation, an all-star shortstop, a large number of elite bullpen pieces, the Dodgers all-time leader in saves, and playoff hero Chris Taylor.
Final Thoughts
It is easy to laugh or roll your eyes at reading this already. Admittedly, I did. Still, it is an encouraging thought that oddsmakers have this much faith in the Dodgers front office and management. Whatever the Dodgers 2022 roster looks like, it is certain to be one competing for a division title and beyond.