As they were before the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers begin their postseason run as the consensus favorites to win the 2026 World Series. The Dodgers enter the playoffs as the +200 favorites to win the title, not much shorter than the +230 odds they had coming into the 2026 season, according to Draft Kings lines. The New York Yankees are next at +500, tied with the Milwaukee Brewers, owners of the major leagues' best regular-season record. The American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays round out the top four at +800.
While bookmakers expected Los Angeles and New York to make it this far, they were more bearish on Milwaukee and Tampa Bay in the preseason, assigning them 35-1 and 80-1 championship odds, respectively. While many of the World Series bets have been focused on the Dodgers -- a leading 37% of them at Fanatics Sportsbook -- their short odds have prevented them from being a liability, with Bet MGM and Caesars lauding them as "winners."
"Our big cheers are for the Astros, Guardians, Dodgers and Braves," Caesars Sportsbook VP of trading Craig Mucklow said. Bet MGM is pulling for New York or Milwaukee, but the Brewers have become a small liability at some other books. At Hard Rock Bet, the Rays have taken an outsized amount of action. The sportsbook is also sweating a $1 20-leg parlay that will cash for $82,590.70 if the Atlanta Braves (+850) win the World Series.
"The White Sox, that's a liability that has continued to grow throughout the whole second half of the season," Draft Kings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN. The Chicago White Sox's run to the postseason has been remarkable given they entered the season with 500-1 odds. The Sox enter the ALDS with 18-1 World Series odds, the longest on the board.
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing