Pittsburgh had the 2nd best record in the Majors with 98 wins, yet were simirarily dismissed in the Wild Card Game by the Cubs – and a lightning hot Jake Arrieta at the time. It may actually get worse for the Bucs in coming years with the emergence of the young NL Chicago squad and the continued dominance of the St. Louis franchise. My idea was to spend some money this offseason, but if you are 5 or 6 games behind the playoff bar near the Trade Deadline, to deal all guys on the remainder year of their contracts and retool for 2017.  Instead they have made a boneheaded trade in doling out Neil Walker for Jon Niese this week.  Their odd should not be +1400 as the #3 ranked team in the NL Central.  I don’t think 3 teams qualify for the playoffs out of that Division in 2016.

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Okay hands up, how many of you followed my advice minutes after the Zack Greinke deal – and pounced on that 40/1 play?  I am happy to say I did, and voila, they jumped from +4000 all the way to+1600.

Sure there was an added bonus of the club picking up Shelby Miller via the trade route – but that is how quickly the odds fluctuate.  The job is to render value.

So far we have given really sound advice on this whole off season.  The first time the new odd was posted we said to stay clear of the Dodgers as the favorite.  Look at them right now – they are considered the 5th favorite in the NL.

Now if you think the Los Angeles franchise is not done on the winter with high priced talent, you can get them at this nice odd.  I personally believe they need to add 1 more #2, #3 starter in addition to the latest Dodgers Hisashi Iwakuma signing – and another premiere Outfielder as well.

The Diamondbacks didn’t have many long term contracts that carry out big $ – so they were able to throw a whole bunch of dough to sign Zack Greinke to the biggest Annual Average Contract in MLB History. The club has followed up by trading a huge amount of prospects and Ender Inciarte to acquire Shelby Miller. The time to bet on them to win the World Series has already passed. Last week they were my best bet at +4000. I managed to place a nice wager before the odd was shot down.

The Diamondbacks have also usurped the Giants to the 3rd spot in the NL West favorites.  I don’t like them as much now at the +1800 mark as they were last week – however after inking Jeff Samardzija, they could jump right into the NL West mix if they can sign a Jason Heyward or Justin Upton still.

Both the Mets and Cubs solidified their playoff quests in 2016 by their recent moves.  The Mets trading a #5 type pitcher in Jon Niese – for Neil Walker, who buys them another year at 2B – and is pretty much a slightly poorer version of Daniel Murphy.

New York also picked up Asdrubal Cabrera for a 2 year pact this week in Free Agency.  Brilliant move because Ruben Tejada may not be capable of starting the year at SS – and with David Wright at Third Base making a lot of stints on the DL, this is a great depth move.

I won’t go as far as to say either of them are great value plays at the odds they possess.  They are about right for both odds.  The Mets still need a potent bat in the Outfield, and some help with Relievers, but I can’t deny them being the best odd out of the NL East.

I may be crazy here, but with Castro in the fold at 2B next year – I like the Pinstripers a hell of a lot more than I did a week ago at +2000.  I still think they have to stop dilly dallying around with their Starting Pitching – and add 2 quality arms that can take up #2 or #3 slots.

Since the Yanks missed out on the power aces, (don’t see them signing Johnny Cueto either), they must sign a couple of decent veterans of the Scott Kazmir, Yovani Gallardo and Wei-Yin Chen variety.  I think Cashman plucking an every day 2B for a swingman Starter is another good move.

For once New York at +2000 is not a bad odd.  I will hold back until I see how the rest of the Division fares for awhile before placing a bet.

I am low on Texas this week – and also think it would be a mistake to trade Prince Fielder.  They should be touting him as the new David Ortiz of the league – and not worry about justifying his $ salary.  Let him friggin DH.

Houston just adding Ken Giles to an already strong Bullpen also knocks the Rangers down a slight peg too. Seattle is twirling around the idea of a Adam Lind deal – and they are being consistent on signing more players – although losing Iwakuma may hurt them significantly.

For the worst odds of the week – has to be Pittsburgh at +1400, who lost a valuable player in Neil Walker, and brought in a starter they could have essentially had for a $10 MIL price tag.  With the uncertainty of Jung-Ho Kang I think it was  a poor idea to deal Walker so quickly. Why not wait until July?

ODDS courtesy of bet365.com

Odds To Win 2016 World Championship

Blue – Good Value

Red – Bad Value

Toronto Blue Jays  +800

Chicago Cubs +800

NY Mets +1000

St. Louis Cards +1000

Boston Red Sox +1000

Washington Nationals +1100

KC Royals +1100

LA Dodgers +1200

Texas Rangers +1300

Pittsburgh Pirates +1400

Houston Astros +1400

Arizona Diamondbacks +1600

SF Giants +1800

NY Yankees +2000

LA Angels +2000

Detroit Tigers +2000

Cleveland Indians +2500

Seattle Mariners +2500

Miami Marlins +3000

Minnesota Twins +3300

Chicago White Sox +4000

Baltimore Orioles +4500

TB Rays +4500

Oakland A’s +6600

Milwaukee Brewers +6600

SD Padres +7500

Cincinnati Reds +9000

Atlanta Braves +17500

Colorado Rockies +20000

Philadelphia Phillies +35000

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their partners***

A Big thanks goes out to our chief writer Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s feature post.

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