Posted on: December 7, 2023, 09:42h.
Last updated on: December 7, 2023, 09:42h.
The New York Yankees saw a nice boost in their World Series odds after they acquired outfielder and slugger Juan Soto in a trade with the San Diego Padres. The Yankees are now +850 odds to win the World Series as the third-highest team on DraftKings’ MLB futures board.
Soto hit 35 home runs and drove in 109 RBI with the Padres last season. He had a slashline of .275/.410/.519. During his first six seasons in the MLB, Soto hit 160 home runs with 483 RBIs. He’s also a career .284 hitter.
Soto, 25, has one more year on his contract. The Padres made the tough, but wise decision to trade Soto to strengthen their pitching staff.
It’s very difficult to make a deal where you’re trading a player the caliber of Juan Soto,” said San Diego general manager A.J. Preller. “We wanted to make sure we shored up a bunch of needs. We were able to get some depth with quality.”
The Yankees sent four pitchers to the Padres in the Soto trade including Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, and Drew Thorpe. Backup catcher Kyle Higashioka. will also join the Padres in the deal. In addition to Soto, outfielder Trent Grisham heads to the Bronx to complete the trade.
Soto Joins Judge and the Bronx Bombers
Soto smacked a career-high 35 home runs this season with the Padres despite a slow start. As a left-handed hitter, he’s expected to possibly reach 40 home runs thanks to the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.
The 2023 Yankees seriously lacked hitting across the board aside from 2022 MVP Aaron Judge and infielder Gleyber Torres. Judge battled a toe injury and missed 56 games, but the rest of the lineup struggled. The Yankees had a lopsided lineup that was dominated by right-handed hitters. They were desperate to add left-handed hitters, particularly power hitters.
General manager Brian Cashman addressed one of their biggest issues with the acquisition of lefties Soto and outfielder Alex Verdugo. The Yankees acquired Verdugo on Tuesday in a rare trade with the Boston Red Sox.
Designated hitter and part-time outfielder Giancarlo Stanton has been plagued with injuries over the last few seasons. His power has drastically diminished since he hit a career-high 59 home runs with the Miami Marlins in 2017. The Yankees hoped Stanton and Judge would provide the Bronx Bombers with a pair of monstrous “bash brothers” but injuries slowed down Stanton. Since 2019, Stanton hit only 49 home runs.
The Soto trade reestablishes a dangerous power duo with Soto and Judge. Soto is in the final year of his current contract, but if the Yankees can ink Soto to a long-term deal, then the Bronx Bombers will have one of the most exciting home run tandems in baseball for the remainder of the decade.
The Yankees have one of the most superstitious fan bases in all of sports, but the Soto trade has already lifted the spirits of downtrodden fans after the Yankees missed the playoffs after a disappointing 82-80 season.
Soto Boosts: Prop Bets and the Yankees’ Futures Market
The Yankees were +1600 odds to win the 2024 World Series when the futures market opened in early November after the Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series. At the start of the week, the Yankees moved to +1200 odds based on the rumor that the Yankees and Padres were negotiating a potential deal for Soto.
After the news of the Soto trade broke on Wednesday, the Yankees saw their World Series odds shrink to +900 at DraftKings. On Thursday morning, the fans woke up to discover the Yankees are now +850 odds to win their first championship since 2009.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are the consensus favorite to win the 2024 World Series at +700 odds. The Dodgers are also the betting favorite to sign two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who is the top available free agent on the market.
The Atlanta Braves are +700 odds to win the World Series, and just ahead of the Yankees (+850), Houston Astros (+1000), and defending champion Texas Rangers (+1000).
The Yankees are now the betting favorite to win the AL pennant at +450 odds after the Soto trade. The Rangers are +500 odds to win the pennant in back-to-back seasons.
DraftKings released a prop bet: “Will Juan Soto reach 45+ home runs in the 2024 regular season?” There is only one payout, with “Yes” at +180 odds.
Judge is the betting favorite to become next season’s “Home Run King” at +350 odds, followed by Matt Olson (+600), Pete Alonso (+700), Kyle Schwarber (+750), Soto (+1000), and Ohtani (+1100).
