MLB Online Betting Odds AL East Hot Stove Preview

Alright online betting aficionados let’s take a look at the free-agent priorities for each of the teams in the American League East division. The Toronto Blue Jays are returning from their first spot in the postseason since that heady 1993 World Series championship team. Their offense will come back untouched, and second baseman Devon Travis and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki will be back to anchor the attack. However, money questions will now crop up. Tulowitzki will be due $18.8 million in 2016. Russell Martin gets an $8 million raise behind the plate.

In Depth Report on MLB Online Betting Odds AL East Hot Stove Preview

.@BringerOfRain20 wins first AL #SilverSlugger Award at third base. pic.twitter.com/NpqH80cPcI

— MLB (@MLB) November 12, 2015

 

Which Players Can Influence Online MLB Betting Odds?

Third baseman Josh Donaldson heads into arbitration and will likely command a big raise from $4.3 million, perhaps as high as $12 million. That means a $27 million jump in payroll from just three players. Ben Revere, Justin Smoak, Aaron Loup and Brett Cecil are all headed for arbitration too. The Blue Jays need an ace. They may try to keep David Price even though his playoff performance was subpar. Johnny Cueto and Jordan Zimmermann will be available too. The Jays need at least two more arms in their rotation as well, and the bullpen needs shoring up. The New York Yankees need to target bullpen depth. The starting rotation has six strong candidates. The biggest piece on the roster is Mark Teixeira. He is at first, but the Yankees like prospect Greg Bird, who got a lot of time at first when Teixeira was injured down the stretch. Teixeira can’t be the DH, because Alex Rodriguez is already there, and no one on the planet will take that behemoth of the contract. If Aaron Judge improves quickly in the minors and comes up ahead of schedule, that could make a real logjam at the DH position. Teixeira has a full no-trade clause but is also entering his contract’s last guaranteed year. The Baltimore Orioles are expected to try and keep first baseman Chris Davis, starting pitcher Bruce Chen and reliever Darren O’Day. Davis has two home run crowns in the last three seasons but had such a down 2014 that the Orioles may not offer him as much as another team would on the open market. O’Day put up a 1.92 ERA over the past four years, averaging 68 appearances a season. This makes him one of the primo relievers on the free agent lists. The Orioles need to find bats for the corner spots in the outfield. If Davis leaves, that would make four big holes in the lineup, three of which were the team’s most productive spots. The O’s can’t afford four elite free agents, so there are some tough choices. The Tampa Bay Rays need to shore up defense by adding a shortstop and a catcher, but they also need a big bat. Only the White Sox had fewer runs last year. James Loney is entering his last contract year and didn’t play that well. The Rays are not expected to spend a lot more than last year, since they sold the fewest tickets last year since 2004. The team has seven players headed to potential arbitration sessions and others due raises, so even maintaining payroll without adding a single player. The Boston Red Sox have a strong offense but need a rotation ace and some help in the bullpen. They picked up the option on Clay Buchholz for $13 million and saw Rick Porcello have a strong second half. They could go hard after David Price or Stephen Strasburg. Their closer, Koji Uehara, is 41 and is returning from a broken wrist. The Red Sox could pursue O’Day. Expect new GM Dave Dombrowski to be active early in this market.