MLB Free Agency Roundup

With the MLB finally ending its lockout, the league's attention has recently turned to the outstanding superstar free agents left on the board. Over the past week, things have finally shaken out, with the last of those names inking some seriously enormous contracts 📝

Here's where the game's top post-lockout free agents landed 👇

• OF Kris Bryant - Colorado Rockies (7 years, $182M)

• 1B Freddie Freeman - LA Dodgers (6 years, $162M)

• SS Trevor Story - Boston Red Sox (6 years, $140M)

• SS Carlos Correa - Minnesota Twins (3 years, $105.3M)

• OF Nick Castellanos - Philadelphia Phillies (5 years, $100M)

Now that the dust has settled, let's take a look at how Vegas expects these signings to change this season's championship chase 🏆

2022 World Series Odds

• Los Angeles Dodgers: +550 (bet $100, win $550)

• Houston Astros: +1000

• New York Mets & Chicago White Sox: +1100

• Toronto Blue Jays: +1200

• New York Yankees & Atlanta Braves: +1300

• Tampa Bay Rays & San Diego Padres: +1400

The Biggest Winners

The Dodgers had the second-best record in baseball last season with 107 wins -- even with down seasons from former MVPs Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger -- and just got a whole lot better 👀

• By adding Freddie Freeman, their Opening Day depth chart should feature a former All-Star at every position except catcher

• Despite missing out on a chance to play in the All-Star Game last season, the club's catcher, Will Smith, ended up leading his position in WAR

• Without including Smith, the Dodgers project to start six different players who made the National League All-Star team just last season

The Dodgers' have the most star power in baseball, but it's their depth that sets them apart. Though their pitching staff is slightly shallower than last season with the departures of Kenley Jansen (Braves) and Max Scherzer (Mets), they still have a pair of young aces in Walker Buehler and Julio Urias, ol' reliable Clayton Kershaw, and at least 10 elite position players to lean on throughout the marathon of a season

• Expecting better health and some positive regression from Mookie and Cody, I have a hard time seeing how the Dodgers could possibly lose their division or finish with fewer than their projected 95 wins 💰

NL West Division Odds

• Dodgers: -185

• Padres: +310

• Giants: +500

• Rockies: +8500

• Diamondbacks: +10000

The Biggest Losers

While their divisional rivals (Red Sox) scored a deal with the shortstop they'd been connected to for years in Trevor Story, and their crosstown rivals (Mets) inked a quarter-billion dollars worth of premier talent, the historically big-spending Yankees did next to nothing

• Sandwiched between Gerrit Cole's historic payday in 2020 and Aaron Judge's impending mega-extension next season, the Yanks refrained from making the offseason's biggest splash

• However, they acquired the final two years of 36-year-old former MVP third-baseman Josh Donaldson's $50M contract, along with versatile shortstop Isaiah Kiner-Falefa by sending franchise catcher Gary Sanchez and frequent playoff hero Gio Urshela to the Twins

Their biggest addition, however, may simply be the re-arrival of a healthy Luis Severino, who just pitched in his first spring training game since 2018 after a slow recovery form Tommy John surgery 🧢

• Clocked in the upper-nineties in that start, a return to his Cy Young-caliber form next to Gerrit Cole could give the Yankees a one-two punch capable of competing with almost any other team's top duo

Here's how the slightly adjusted Yankees roster is projected to fare in the division against the ascendant Blue Jays, ever-competitive Rays, and reloaded Red Sox 👇

AL East Division Odds

• Blue Jays: +200

• Rays: +230

• Yankees: +260

• Red Sox: +450

• Orioles: +15000

For My Parlay Gurus

With MLB's delayed regular season slated to start on April 7, let's check in on this newsletter's corresponding coastal NBA teams. Considering the Knicks' rocky season and the Clippers' disadvantage in star power, I've got Denver covering at home, and the Hawks with the points at the Garden 👇

• Hawks -2 @ Knicks: -110

• Nuggets -6.5 vs. the Clippers: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 -- if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for $100*. First come, first serve 😉

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