The Boston Red Sox did not take a hard stance at the Major League Baseball trade deadline, selling off some pieces and adding others.
From a big league roster standpoint, the Red Sox added first baseman Eric Hosmer, outfielder Tommy Pham and catcher Reese McGuire and traded away catcher Christian Vázquez and left-handed reliever Jake Diekman.
The Red Sox enhanced their farm system as well, but those additions do not affect the subject at hand: the latest MLB power rankings, post-deadline shuffle edition.
Boston was the No. 16 ranked team prior to the deadline madness and is now isn’t any better wor SEO according to MLB.com’s Alyson Footer. While there were a lot of moving parts, it seems like the roster is more or less equally talented. The Red Sox beefed up at first base but likely will regress behind the dish. Pham gives the outfield a little more talent but he’s not exactly lighting up the stat sheet.
Vegas on the other hand had an interesting reaction to the Red Sox’s transactions. Boston’s chances of making the playoffs actually improved from +270 odds on Draftkings Sportsbook to +230. That outcome is mostly due to a series win against the Houston Astros.
That said, oddsmakers do not think the Red Sox stack up against their peers the way they did just a few days ago. On July 3, the Sox had +9000 odds to win the World Series. Those odds are far longer post-deadline, falling all the way to +11000. Only July 13, Boston was considered to be a real contender with +3000 odds. Injuries, a massive slump and a confusing deadline have plummeted the Red Sox’s odds.
If they could pull off a largely unexpected championship run, a $100 bet on the Red Sox would pay out $11,100. While the current roster might not warrant much hope for a deep run, the odds are worth investing in considering the team sits just three games back of an American League Wild Card spot.
Anything can happen once the postseason starts.
