It was an awfully busy MLB trade deadline, especially in the AL East. All three East teams in the playoff picture—the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees, and the Boston Red Sox—made significant upgrades before Monday’s deadline expired. Now that these teams are locked in for the stretch run, let’s look at the updated odds for the division.
Here are the current odds to win the AL East on the DraftKings Sportsbook:
The Rays, who currently lead the division by 2.5 games, come in with -105 odds to win the AL East title. Once again, Tampa Bay’s scrappy, low-budget team is making noise, led by MVP candidate Junior Caminero and an excellent pitching staff. That staff only got better with the addition of Freddy Peralta, who joins the rotation after a frustrating half-season with the Mets. They also made a trade for 1B/C/DH Liam Hicks from the Miami Marlins, who is in the middle of a career year, to give their lineup some extra thump. Right-handed reliever Tyler Wells also came over from the Orioles to round out the deadline for President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander.
Behind them are the Yankees at +140, who are currently in second place. Injuries have dogged New York all season long, most notably keeping Aaron Judge out of the lineup, though he is expected to return before the regular season ends. GM Brian Cashman may draw the ire of fans with lofty expectations, but they made some significant moves before the deadline to bolster the lineup. Luis Garcia Jr., the NL leader in slugging percentage, joins the Bronx Bombers’ lineup to give them another big lefty bat. They also acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos from the Giants to provide important outfield depth. With a loaded pitching staff and a potentially elite lineup, the Yankees are American League favorites for a reason, though catching the Rays for the division may prove a tall task.
Coming in third are the Boston Red Sox at +500, the hottest team in baseball and one of the big winners of the deadline. Boston’s 21-4 month of July was the highest winning percentage over a calendar month in franchise history, which is really saying something when you look at the 100+ year history of the Sox. They also nabbed one of the big names at the deadline, getting catcher Adley Rutschman from the division rival Orioles. Rutschman was arguably the most valuable catcher in baseball from 2022-23 as a force behind the dish and at the plate, but took some steps back in recent years. He’s been injured this year, but has been exceptional when on the field and makes this Red Sox team all the more dangerous. They also added Erik Miller, a promising but wild reliever, from the Giants in exchange for Marcelo Mayer. GM Craig Breslow did a solid job adding to the team without tremendously upsetting the balance, and the team is likely to welcome Garrett Crochet back at some point in the fall.
It’s a tough division to call. You can easily argue these are the three best teams in the American League this season, and they’re all within five games of one another with two months left in the regular season and plenty of games against the others to play. Back your horse now before the final stretch of the race begins.
