Major League Baseball

2025 MLB odds: Boston Red Sox best bet to win AL East

Published Mar. 24, 2025 11:37 a.m. ET

The 2018 Boston Red Sox were one of the best teams in recent memory, going 108-54 in the regular season, en route to an AL East title and ultimately, a World Series championship.

As impressive as the 108 regular-season wins were, their 11-3 record in the postseason was equally illustrative of just how dominant that team was.

The problem for fans in Beantown, though, is that here we are seven years later. And the Red Sox have only been back to the playoffs once since then, which was in 2021. And they have not won the division since that fantastic 2018 season.

Can that streak be broken this year?

With the addition of lefty ace Garrett Crochet via a trade with the White Sox, and the free agent signings of pitchers Walker Buehler and Alex Bregman, the Red Sox spent this winter closing the gap on the Orioles and Yankees. They spent most of 2024 on the fringe of contention for the division and in mid-July, the Red Sox were 10 games over .500 at 53-43, before a second-half swoon dropped them to 81-81.

However, not only have they gotten better, but the gap between them and the Yankees could very well be shrinking, due to the nightmarish winter for reigning AL champs.

Boston Red Sox (+350) to win AL East

Juan Soto departed from the Bronx, ace Gerrit Cole will not throw a pitch this season and postseason hero and future Hall of Famer Giancarlo Stanton is possibly out for the season. Rookie of the Year Luis Gil is also injured, with a return date that remains unclear.

Thirteen wins separated these teams last year. Is it possible the Yankees backtrack by seven or eight wins and the Red Sox improve by a similar number, considering their additions? I think it absolutely is in play, and, of course, the Orioles are also in the mix for this division with all of their young talent.

However, they lost ace Corbin Burnes in free agency and are already dealing with their own pitching injuries, as Grayson Rodriguez — who was expected to start Opening Day — is recovering from an elbow injury and is not expected back any time soon. Fellow starting pitchers Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish remain on the shelf as well.

The Red Sox not only added a ton of established talent through trades and free agency this offseason, but they own what Baseball America considers the best farm system in baseball.

Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer, and Kristian Campbell are all names that baseball fans might become very familiar with in the coming years. Those players could give the Red Sox depth and flexibility, if any of them come up this year to contribute. The gaudy farm system also makes the Red Sox capable of adding talent mid-season via another trade if that’s the path they so choose.

Either way, the Red Sox +350 to win their first AL East since 2018 is a bet I really like. Additionally, a less risky bet for them to just make the playoffs at -105 is also a good one, as they should be one of the six best teams in the American League.

Will Hill, a contributor on the Bears Bets Podcast, has been betting on sports for over a decade. He is a betting analyst who has been a host on VSiN, as well as the Goldboys Network.

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