Yoenis Cespedes led all LF for HRs with 35 on the campaign in 2015. He picked a contract year for his best season to date out of the 4 years he has been in the Major Leagues. Cespedes hit 17 HRs with the Mets in 2 months, after smacking out just 18 in the first four months with Detroit. Cespedes finished in the top 40 for both leagues in respective big fly’s, and was tied for 13th overall with Manny Machado and David Ortiz. New York brought him back for at least another year, where he helped the Mets go 34 – 23 down the stretch. Expect more of the same in 2016. Mets are the best bet of the week for the ‘Fall Classic’ value wise.

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A couple of things have happened over the last week.  The Mets signed Yoenis Cespedes and no odd was changed after this.  Very strange indeed.

With adding the Cuban slugger, the Mets have almost assured their fanbase for another post season berth in 2016.  This club is more like it was in the last 2 months than it was in the 1st four months.

Even if the Nationals were to have an unbelievable year – the Mets should still make the postseason as the #1 Wild Card seed.

I have the Mets as a 96 win team after this move, with the Nats listed about 93 victories.  Had the Nats picked up Cespedes, I would have given Washington a 95 – 92 win advantage over New York.

It has been an offseason of failed pickups via Free Agency and trade. With New York picking up Cespedes, the Nats should not be considered tied for the best odd to win the NL East. Despite thinking they will still win 90+ games due to a weaker NL East, the Nats should be somewhere in the +1500 arena – where the Dodgers and Rangers are at. Stay away from this odd right now.

The Mets should be favored over the Nats all day right now.  Washington is still down Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Denard Span, Ian Desmond, 4 great months from Drew Storen, Matt Thornton, and a .315 Batter in Yunel Escobar.

All Washington has brought back is Daniel Murphy, Ben Revere, Trevor Gott, Oliver Perez, Bronson Arroyo and Yusmeiro Petit. One could argue the departed are far more superior than the new blood.

Injuries played a massive factor on the 2015 version of the Nationals.  Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman spent too much time on the DL for sure, but the other moves Washington has done has not improved the club.

A full year of Stephen Strasburg would definitely help absorb the loss of Zimmermann.

Washington won just 84 games – and needed an MVP performance from Bryce Haprer – otherwise it would have been much worse.

There is no doubt the Nats will still clean up on playing the Phillies, Braves and they seem to thump the hell out of the Marlins.  The division could be won and lost with their 19 games series versus the New York Mets.

I will give the organization full credit for putting themselves in the Free Agent derby for several players like Jason Heyward, Yoenis Cespedes, Darren O’Day and Ben Zobrist, but all lost out to other clubs.

Mike Rizzo also lost on the acquisitions of Aroldis Chapman and Brandon Phillips.

In my opinion, the Nats really need to sign a few guys.  Go and get a Dexter Fowler, and think about bringing back Desmond for a one year deal.  For now I have taken them off a best bet option here.

The Mets are the best bet of the week at +1100.  To think this number never shifted when adding a guy like Cespedes is mind boggling.  New York was 33 – 24 after his arrival, and that type or record should be expected for a full year.

The San Francisco Giants are also too heavily favored at this time.  I am not saying that the shouldn’t win the NL West right now, but to be ahead of the Mets is a little fishy.

Johnny Cueto wasn’t exactly light out with KC at the tail end of last year, and Jeff Samardzija featured an ERA of near 5 for the year.

Granted that San Fran’s offense is the best lineup in the NL 1 – 9, and this is an even year, the team should be right up there. I would just say that the rest of the division will give them a lot more trouble than what the NL East will see – or the NL Central for that matter.

Colorado is a tough place to win even when the team isn’t that good, and San Diego still has a decent rotation – with a pitching friendly park.  These opponents should be harder to win against than Atlanta, Philadelphia, Milwaukee or Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh and Texas continue to receive a ton of credit for their 2015 seasons on this list, and really should be stayed away from with those odds.

The Yankees and Dodgers provide decent value for +1500 – and do have the wherewithal to add to the roster via payroll (should they get out of the starting blocks strong.)

I have left the Detroit Tigers as a favorable odd at +2200 – as they may be a healthy season away – with one or 2 KC injuries from closing the gap on the Royals.  KC at +1200 is about right.

Toronto, Boston, St. Louis and Houston are perfectly pegged for their odds.

ODDS courtesy of bet365.com

Odds To Win 2016 World Championship

Blue – Good Value

Red – Bad Value

Chicago Cubs +700

SF Giants +900

Toronto Blue Jays  +1000

Boston Red Sox +1000

NY Mets +1100

Washington Nationals +1100

KC Royals +1200

St. Louis Cards +1200

Houston Astros +1300

Texas Rangers +1500

Pittsburgh Pirates +1500

Arizona Diamondbacks +1500

LA Dodgers +1500

NY Yankees +1500

LA Angels +2200

Detroit Tigers +2200

Cleveland Indians +2500

Seattle Mariners +2500

Miami Marlins +3000

Chicago White Sox +3300

Minnesota Twins +4000

TB Rays +5000

Baltimore Orioles +5000

Oakland A’s +6600

SD Padres +7500

Milwaukee Brewers +10000

Cincinnati Reds +12500

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 other partners.***

A big thanks goes out to our chief writer/owner Hunter Stokes for preparing today’s featured post.

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