How Oddsmakers View Red Sox After 2022 MLB Trade Deadline

The Boston Red Sox face an uphill battle to secure a playoff berth.

This much is obvious with a check of both the American League standings and where the Red Sox sit in the futures betting market after the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

Boston’s record dropped to .500 (53-53) with Wednesday’s loss to the Houston Astros, which put the Red Sox 17 games behind the first-place New York Yankees in the AL East and three games back of the AL’s third and final wild card spot.

The Red Sox opted to toe the line between buying and selling before Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline. As such, they shouldn’t be written off entirely for the remainder of 2022. Just as they shouldn’t be considered a lock to reach the postseason, especially with six teams ahead of them in the wild card race.

Here’s a look at Boston’s futures odds as of Wednesday night, per DraftKings Sportsbook:

To win World Series: +8000
To win American League: +3500
To win AL East: +100000

Obviously, it would take a miracle for the last-place Red Sox to leapfrog the Baltimore Orioles, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays and Yankees to win the AL East. Landing a wild card spot is far more likely, although even that seems increasingly farfetched with each loss.

For context, the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are the favorites to win the World Series at DraftKings Sportsbook, both with +390 odds.

New York also has the shortest odds to win the American League (+185), slightly ahead of Houston (+190), and is a huge favorite to wrap up the AL East (-3500).

The Red Sox thrust themselves into the playoff discussion with a red-hot June, but they followed the impressive run with an ice-cold July that cast more doubt over their ceiling for 2022.

Boston made several moves before Tuesday’s trade deadline, shipping out catcher Christian Vázquez while bringing in first baseman Eric Hosmer, outfielder Tommy Pham and backstop Reese McGuire. But none of that activity really moves the needle, from a betting standpoint, and it’s hard to project whether the roster reshuffling will have a meaningful impact down the stretch.