World Series Odds | Beyond the Box Score
May your dreams be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be slightly more favorable than 80/1—that’s what we’re looking at for the Rockies in 2020.
The obvious favorites for World Series triumph in 2020 are the League Championship Series representatives from 2019, minus the Nationals. The Yankees (3/1) hold the finest odds out of everybody, followed by the Dodgers (6/1) and Astros (7/1).
Despite the inability to retain certain players and sign some outsiders, the Dodgers are in the driver’s seat for National League competition. Their starting rotation this next season is described with “pitching depth” in this odds writeup, despite the impending loss of Rich Hill and Hyun-Jin Ryu who made that rotation even deeper for multiple years. It sounds crazy to even accuse a team with second-best World Series odds as having holes in their lineup, but it will remain interesting to see the approach they take the fill them.
Five of the top seven odds are in the National League, though only one of them shares a division with Colorado. The Rockies going off at 80/1 puts them out of even the “longshot tier” explained in this writeup for teams between the 25/1 and 30/1 range. San Diego sits at 40/1, Arizona is 60/1, and San Francisco is 300/1, making the NL West “the most top-heavy division per the oddsmakers.”
The Rockies were 20/1 prior to Opening Day in 2019, just behind the eventual champion Nationals at 18/1.
LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu agrees to 4-year, $80M deal with Blue Jays | ESPN.com
The National League’s Cy Young runner-up is leaving the NL West. The now ex-Dodger Hyun-Jin Ryu has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, and his appearances against the Rockies are about to get a lot less frequent.
The Dodgers currently look upon Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler as their likely one-two starters. The anticipation or speculation for Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner or Dallas Keuchel in Los Angeles is now obsolete.
Colorado Rockies: The case for signing Robinson Chirinos
RoxPile published an article about the case for 35-year-old catcher Robinson Chirinos coming to Denver, and in doing so also did a great job chronicling the past decade of Rockies catching. Colorado has placed names like Miguel Olivo, Tom Murphy and Tony Wolters behind the dish, being the most notable and productive backstops of recent Rockies history.
If it’s established and recognized the Rockies don’t have much money to spend, it reasons against certain moves like a Yasmani Grandal coming to town. Catchers can be difficult to come by in a free agent market, and even more so with a financial cap involved.
Minnesota recently signed Alex Avila to a one-year, $4.25 million deal with the Twins, after posting a 1.3 fWAR with Arizona this past year. Chirinos showed for a 2.3 fWAR with Houston, which could stand for a little more monetary value that what Avila received. The Rockies have spent 4.3 million for each of the next three years for Scott Oberg; if that foreshadows an amount for spending and the need for a catcher is recognized, Chirinos just may fit the mold for what is available. They may have to dish out more than what Oberg and Avila are getting, however.
New York Mets emerging as possible destination for Nolan Arenado | Call to the Pen (FanSided)
If you still like reading these kinds of things, here’s another on a potential Arenado move. Arenado holds a full no-trade clause, so the inner thoughts of him are probably the biggest headline possible on this matter.
Arenado breaks his silence on rumors | MLB.com
Here’s the inner thoughts of Arenado we get: “I’m getting ready like I do every year.” His silence is simply broken with a quote that doesn’t pertain to rumors itself, so don’t let the headline fool you too much.