2023 World Series Odds: Astros Favored to Repeat as Opening Day is Days Away

Happy MLB Opening Day week!

The 2023 MLB season opens on Thursday, with every team in action, armed with fresh MLB odds to win the World Series and unlimited optimism and hope.

While hope is a powerful tool, the reality is, however, that it is still the usual suspects sitting atop the MLB futures board — including the defending champions favored to repeat.

We take a deeper look at the 2023 World Series odds, with the regular season just days away.

Odds to win the 2023 World Series

Odds over time

Favorites to win the World Series

Houston Astros (+600 to +625)

The Houston Astros odds had them as the betting favorites to win the American League throughout the summer last year... and they eventually delivered the second World Series title in franchise history. 

Veteran outfielder Michael Brantley missed the entire postseason with an injury, so he didn't factor into the club's success in October. The club recently re-signed him, though, shoring up the offense a touch more in the process.

First baseman Yuli Gurriel left in free agency — but he was replaced by 2020 AL MVP Jose Abreu — and Jose Altuve will miss some time with a broken finger. However, the lineup is still dripping with talent, anchored by Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Alex Bregman, and Jeremy Pena.

However, it's the departure of Justin Verlander to the NL that will raise the most eyebrows... but will the Astros really miss him?

His World Series struggles are largely meaningless, and he just won the third Cy Young of his career. That said, the Astros still have Framber Valdez, Lance McCullers Jr., Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia, Hunter Brown, Bryan Abreu, and maybe even former top prospect Forrest Whitley as rotation options — and those who don't make the rotation will serve as bullpen depth or trade chips.

Los Angeles Dodgers (+700 to +850)

Yes, the Los Angles Dodgers were shockingly vanquished by the Padres in four games in the NLDS, but that hasn't changed their fortunes in the eyes of oddsmakers after they won 111 games in 2022.

The Dodgers saw shortstop Trea Turner depart, and his replacement Gavin Lux will miss the season with a torn ACL, but this lineup still has some pop with Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Max Muncy — plus veteran slugger J.D. Martinez was signed in the offseason and promising rookie Miguel Vargas is slated to play every day as well.

LA didn't make a signature big splash, but it also did retain the services of longtime ace Clayton Kershaw, who will lead a rotation that features talented young arms in Julio Urias, Dustin May, and Tony Gonsolin while veteran Noah Syndergaard was added as well... and maybe ace Walker Buehler (out following his second Tommy John surgery in August 2022) returns at some point?

New York Yankees (+700 to +850)

It's not a modern MLB season if the New York Yankees odds to win the Fall Classic aren't among the shortest in the league, are here they are among the favorites heading into 2023.

The Bronx Bombers still feature the big names — Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, D.J. LaMahieu, and Gerrit Cole — and the bullpen still looks to be among the best in the bigs, but there is a bit of a youth movement as well, with top prospect Anthony Volpe making the Opening Day roster and expected to be the everyday shortstop, while Oswaldo Cabrera should be a regular all across the diamond.

The most significant question mark now for the Yankees, however, is the starting rotation: A month ago it looked like one of the strongest in baseball, but Carlos Rodon and Luis Severino are on the IL to start the year, Nestor Cortes Jr. has been battling a quad injury all spring, and Frankie Montas is likely out for the season. That's already crushing New York's rotation depth, as after Cole, the Yanks' No. 2 starter is currently Clarke Schmidt (a former top prospect whose shine has worn off), followed by Domingo German (a back-end starter), a less-than-100% Cortes... and Jhony Brito.

Atlanta Braves (+750 to +900)

A team that doesn't have any rotation concerns, the Atlanta Braves odds to win it all will lean heavily on a strong stable of arms, highlighted by young arms Max Fried, Spencer Strider, and Kyle Wright, veteran Charlie Morton, and the eventual return of Mike Soroka.

In addition to a strong rotation, the Braves fortified the lineup too by acquiring catcher Sean Murphy — and subsequently extending him — from the Athletics in a three-team deal this offseason, reuniting him with former Oakland teammate Matt Olson, whom the Braves acquired in a winter 2021 trade to replace the departed Freddie Freeman.

Atlanta's offense should also get a big boost from having a healthy Ronald Acuna Jr., one of the most dynamic players in baseball when 100%, who further lengthens a lineup that also has Austin Riley, Olson, and reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Harris II.

New York Mets (+850 to +900)

No, the Mets didn't end up getting Carlos Correa, and yes, 3/5 of their rotation (including Jacob deGrom) departed... but the Amazins still boast a strong, deep roster.

The offensive core is led by returning sluggers Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Starling Marte, while reinforcements are waiting in the minors (if needed) with the likes of highly regarded prospects Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Francisco Alvarez.

On the pitching front, after deGrom, Chris Bassitt, and Taijuan Walker, but the Mets acted swiftly, snatching up Justin Verlander to fill the deGrom void, as the 40-year-old has yet to show signs of slowing down and is coming off the third Cy Young victory of his career after going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA in 28 starts for the Astros.

Now, he reforms a 1-2 punch very reminiscent to Tigers fans (he and Max Scherzer were a dominant tandem for Detroit in the early 2010s) and there's further rotational support by Japanese hurler Kodai Senga and veteran Carlos Carrasco.

The one potential danger area for the Mets is the bullpen — star closer Edwin Diaz will miss the season with a torn patellar tendon, meaning veteran David Robertson will likely be the best arm remaining in the relief corps. 

Understanding World Series futures odds

Sportsbooks will post odds for the World Series as early as the day after the end of the previous MLB postseason. These odds are constantly adjusted throughout the offseason as players get hurt or are suspended or traded. Once the season begins, title odds will change as often as daily as teams win and lose games and as players get hurt or suspended. Sportsbooks will also adjust MLB futures odds based on handle and liability to certain teams.

World Series futures odds will usually look like this:

• Houston Astros +210

This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to profit $210 if the Astros win the World Series. If it's close to the end of the regular season or during the playoffs and if there is a very dominant team, you might see that a team is has a minus sign (-) ahead of its odds. 

• Los Angeles Dodgers -120

This means that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on a Dodgers championship.

Above we have posted the American odds for MLB futures. However, these are easy to convert to decimal odds or fractional odds with our odds converter tool.

How to bet on MLB futures odds

There are a few different ways to bet on professional baseball futures odds. One way is by selecting the winner of the World Series. You're able to do this from basically after the final out of the previous year's World Series all the way through to next year's playoffs.

There are many other baseball futures markets to dive into as well, such as odds to win the National League and American League pennants, odds to win each division within both the NL and AL, and by taking the Over or Under on a team's total wins for the season. Some sportsbooks will also offer markets on player awards such as the MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year.

Get more baseball betting strategies in our How to Bet section and join the conversation with thousands of serious baseball bettors in our MLB Betting Forum. 

Where to bet on the World Series

If you're in a state that allows mobile, online betting, make sure you know which sites are the best baseball betting sites. The best betting sites offer sharp odds, quick payouts and are safe and secure when it comes to depositing and withdrawing your money.

World Series Odds FAQs

Pages related to this topic