The Major League Baseball trade deadline is one of the most anticipated events on the sports calendar. Fans from every team hope their team gets the players they need for that big playoff push, or they are on the edge of their seat to read what top prospect will be coming back for their traded asset.
After the dust settles baseball fans from all over weigh in on who won the deadline, who lost, and how much impact it really made. This trade deadline, compared to every other sport, can shift the landscape of the sport in an instant. Manny Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers and although he only played two month with LA, he still finished 4th in the MVP race. CC Sabathia was traded to Milwaukee at the deadline and went on to CY Young votes. Randy Johnson went to Houston during the break as did Aroldis Chapman head to Chicago and delivered the Cubs a championship.
This season we had no shortage of high profile names switch teams. It was a bullpen market and it delivered in a big way. We saw Jhoan Duran, Mason Miller, David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Ryan Helsley, Kyle Finnegan, Tyler Rogers, and Griffin Jax switch teams, along with a slew of others. But, for us sports bettors the question is did anyone do enough to make us change our projections moving forward?
There were a few key teams who watched their odds shift post trade deadline. The Texas Rangers went from 28-1 to 20-1 to win the World Series. Their division rivals the Seattle Mariners slightly improved from 18-1 to 14-1. The San Diego Padres had the biggest bullpen shakeup but their odds only went from 22-1 to 16-1.
The Philadelphia Phillies addressed their key need and picked up the best closer available dropping their futures numbers from 10-1 to 8-1. The San Francisco Giants sold and their odds reflected that going from 40-1 to 55-1, while the Rays also saw a big move going from 30-1 to 60-1, despite grabbing Griffin Jax.
The markets still have the Dodgers on top with the best odds to win it all but the gap has closed post deadline and now that the teams are set it's time to reevaluate and see if there is value left in your futures market.