World Series Odds: Where Red Sox Stand Heading Into 2021 MLB Season

The 2020 Major League Baseball season is one the Red Sox surely would like to forget, but there are reasons to believe Boston will turn things around in 2021.

The Red Sox put together a solid offseason headlined by the reunion with manager Alex Cora, who led Boston to a World Series championship in 2018, a record-breaking year for the organization. The ’21 Sox look much different than the ballclub did three years ago, but a wave of newcomers coupled with a handful of core members from that title-winning team has the Red Sox poised to make a run at a playoff spot this year.

Boston securing a 2021 MLB playoffs berth wouldn’t be a full-fledged stunner, but winning its second Fall Classic in four years would come as a fairly significant surprise. This is reflected in the sportsbooks, as the Red Sox are tabbed with +4500 odds to win the World Series at FanDuel with the start of the regular season just over a week away. In other words, if you bet $100 now on the Red Sox to be the last team standing this season, you’ll take home a cool $4,500 if Boston does, indeed, hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy later this fall.

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That price might be too good to pass up. Boston is poised to be one of the stronger offensive teams in the American League this season. Opposing pitchers are not going to find many easy outs going through the Red Sox’s lineup as first baseman Bobby Dalbec — arguably Boston’s best pure power bat save for J.D. Martinez — very well could find himself ninth in the order on any given night. Strikeouts could be an issue for the ’21 Sox, but the home runs also should come in abundance.

The biggest concern surrounding Boston this season is pitching. That said, the Red Sox dating back to last season’s trade deadline added a pair of veteran starters and bolstered the bullpen with arms like Adam Ottavino, among others. If the offense performs as expected, Boston won’t need dazzling, wire-to-wire pitching performances on a nightly basis. And as it stands, a Chris Sale return later in the summer cannot be ruled out.

In our eyes, this Red Sox team features too much talent to be completely disregarded as a potential World Series winner. We’d recommend trying to capitalize on the value now, as Boston might start proving its doubters wrong from the get-go.