MLB odds: Is now a good time to bet on the Boston Red Sox?

By Sam Panayotovich
FOX Sports Betting Analyst

The Boston Red Sox aren’t winning the American League East this season, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t built for a deep playoff run.

Boston is buried 14 games behind the first-place New York Yankees, and its odds to win the division are a colossal 40-1 at FOX Bet. (Don’t even think about it). That being said, the odds have gone the other way in the American League pennant market.

Around the first week of May, the Red Sox were as high as 35-1 to represent the American League in the World Series. Fast-forward to today, and those odds have been slashed precipitously. 

FOX Bet is dealing Boston at 11-1 ($100 wins $1,100) to be the last team standing in the junior circuit.

AL pennant odds via FOX Bet:

New York Yankees: +175 (bet $10 to win $27.50 total)
Houston Astros: +245 (bet $10 to win $34.50 total)
Toronto Blue Jays: +550 (bet $10 to win $65 total)
Boston Red Sox: +1100 (bet $10 to win $120 total)
Tampa Bay Rays: +1300 (bet $10 to win $140 total)
Chicago White Sox: +1400 (bet $10 to win $150 total)
Minnesota Twins: +2000 (bet $10 to win $210 total)
Cleveland Guardians: +3500 (bet $10 to win $360 total)

“The Yankee number is fair, but there’s no way I’m playing anything shy of 2-1 on a favorite to win anything,” one professional bettor told FOX Sports. “It’s almost a case of the Yankees being so dominant that it makes the prices better on every other team in the American League.

“If you’re willing to short the Yankees, you’re getting a fair shake.”

Houston is the clear-cut second favorite at +245, but things get really interesting after line two. Three AL East teams follow the Astros, but the order doesn’t make much sense.

Boston (+1100) and Tampa Bay (+1300) currently hold a half-game lead on Toronto (+550) in the Wild Card race, yet Toronto’s odds are decidedly lower. There’s obviously some liability built in because the Blue Jays were a preseason darling for many bettors and pundits. 

But come on.

That’s a whole lot of disrespect on a team that was literally two wins away from playing in the World Series a season ago. 

“The Red Sox have the arms to compete against the Yankees’ lineup in the postseason,” the bettor opined. “They’ve been doing a lot of heavy lifting without guys like Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi and haven’t missed a beat.

“That lineup has plenty of thump with [Rafael] Devers, [Xander] Bogaerts, [J.D.] Martinez and [Trevor] Story and Kike [Hernandez] was a menace in the playoffs last year. The Sox bullpen has some holes, which they need to address down the stretch.

“But they have the resources to bolster the roster at the deadline.”

The bullpen will get a considerable boost soon when Josh Taylor and Garrett Whitlock return from the disabled list, and the pitching staff will be much more formidable if guys like James Paxton can contribute down the stretch.

A rotation with Eovaldi, Sale and Nick Pivetta can be dangerous in a best-of-three playoff series —  another new wrinkle this year — against either Minnesota, Chicago, Cleveland, Tampa Bay or Toronto in the first round.

As Boston proved last postseason, it can get hot in a hurry. 

The Red Sox aren’t the best American League team on paper by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s absolutely no reason they should have double-digit odds to win the pennant.

If the Yankees flame out, anything is possible. 

Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and NESN. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. He’ll probably pick against your favorite team. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.