In last year’s shortened season, the Tampa Bay Rays were the top dog in the American League, advancing all the way to the World Series where they lost in six games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Below, we look at the Tampa Bay Rays’ MLB futures odds, including their projected 2021 win total and World Series odds at BetMGM.
Tampa Bay went an AL-best 40-20 in the regular season a year ago and finished 7 games ahead of the New York Yankees to win the AL East.
The Rays swept the Toronto Blue Jays in a two-game AL Wild Card Series but had to go the distance in the next two rounds. They beat the Yankees in a five-game AL Division Series and the Houston Astros in a seven-game AL Championship Series.
LF Randy Arozarena was the breakout star of the playoffs. He hit .377 with 10 homers and 14 RBIs in 20 postseason games. He won the ALCS MVP after hitting .321 with 4 homers and 6 RBIs vs. the Astros.
While the lineup basically stays intact, several tweaks were made to the rotation. LHP Blake Snell, the 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner, was traded to the San Diego Padres for three prospects and C Francisco Mejia.
Meanwhile, they added free-agent starters LHP Rich Hill, RHP Chris Archer and RHP Michael Wacha.
Hill went 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA for the Minnesota Twins last season. Archer returns to Tampa Bay after 1½ seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates (3-9, 5.19 ERA last season). Wacha hopes to rebound from last year’s campaign (1-4, 6.62 ERA) campaign with the New York Mets.
Tampa Bay Rays’ 2021 World Series odds
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday, March 13 at 10:09 a.m. ET.
Odds: +2500 (bet $100 to win $2,500)
The Rays still get no respect. There are 10 teams with shorter odds than the defending AL champs. The World Series champion Dodgers (+350) are the favorites, followed by the Yankees (+550), Chicago White Sox (+900) and San Diego Padres (+900).
Pittsburgh (+20000) is the biggest long shot, just ahead of the Texas Rangers (+15000).
At +2500, the Rays’ implied probability of winning the World Series is 3.85% or 25/1 fractional odds.
For a team that was just two wins away from winning it all and only lost Snell in the offseason, BETTING RAYS (+2500) offers a solid value.
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Tampa Bay Rays’ 2021 win total
Over/Under: 86.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Last year’s 40 wins in 60 games equates to 108 victories in a full 162-game season. They won 96 games in 2019 and 90 games in ’18.
I’d be reluctant if the line was 90 or higher, but at this number, I’m down with backing the OVER 86.5.
Odds to win the AL East Division
- Yankees -200 (bet $200 to win $100)
- Blue Jays: +400 (bet $100 to win $400)
- Rays: +450 (bet $100 to win $450)
- Boston Red Sox: +2000 (bet $100 to win $2,000)
- Baltimore Orioles: +6600 (bet $100 to win $6,600)
The Rays (+450) have an implied probability of winning the AL East of 18.18% or 9/2 fractional odds. I’d prefer a bigger payoff here, so I’ll PASS.
Odds to win the American League
Odds: +1000 (bet $100 to win $1,000)
At +1000, the Rays’ implied probability to defend their AL title is 9.09% or 10/1 fractional odds.
Tampa bay is tied for the fifth shortest odds with the Astros and Oakland A’s, while the Yankees (+240) are the favorites. The White Sox (+400), Twins (+750) and Blue Jays (+900) round out the top five.
A RAYS (+1000) BET to win the AL crown seems like a good deal to me.
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