The Chicago Cubs haven’t won the World Series in 107 years, dating all the way back to when they won the title in 1908. They will try to break more than a century of futility as the betting favorite to win the World Series in 2016.
World Series odds 2016: Cubs, Mets, Giants, Red Sox among betting favorites
Coming off strong seasons, the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets top the 2016 World Series betting board heading into spring training.
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Chicago is going off at +400 to win the World Series this season according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Cubs were one of the best teams in baseball last season with a 97-65 regular season record, and on paper they look even better heading into 2016.
While keeping most of the team’s young core together, the Cubs added defensive expert Jason Heyward in centerfield and bolstered the starting rotation with the addition of veteran John Lackey.
Last season, Chicago’s season came to an end at the hands of the New York Mets, who swept the Cubs out of the playoffs in the NLCS. New York has had a pretty quiet offseason, but with the re-signing of Yoenis Cespedes and the best young pitching staff in all of baseball still under contract, there is no reason to expect a decline in 2016.
Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz all return this season, this time with playoff experience to help the Mets, who going off at +800 to win the title.
Other potential contenders in the National League include the San Francisco Giants (+800 to win the World Series), Los Angeles Dodgers (+1200), and Washington Nationals (+1600). San Francisco bolstered its pitching staff this offseason with the additions of Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija.
In the American League, the top contenders on the odds to win the World Series include the Boston Red Sox (+1200), Toronto Blue Jays (+1200), Kansas City Royals (+1600) and Houston Astros (+1800).
Despite taking a hit when they lost David Price to the Red Sox during free agency, the Blue Jays should still have the best offense in baseball this season fueled by Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.
With back-to-back AL Pennants and a World Series victory last season, the Royals continue to get overlooked on the betting board and could provide some value to their backers this season at +1600.
