The New York Yankees put the final touches on Gerrit Cole\u2019s contract this week and introduced their new ace. The signing had a huge ripple effect in the baseball landscape as it not only weakened their chief competitor in the American League, the Houston Astros, it also kept him away from their biggest competitor in the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now that the dust has settled on some of the big signings like Cole, Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon, the 2020 MLB regular season win odds have opened up on a number of teams. Here\u2019s a look at a few of the first numbers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cole is now a Yankee after agreeing to one of the most lucrative deals in baseball history. The Yankees were willing to spend a massive sum for Cole, who is now the ultimate ace in the New York rotation. Cole gives the Yankees a much more dominant No. 1 starter compared to previous seasons, which should help them minimize losing streaks in 2020. Starting pitching was arguably their biggest need as only one team that qualified for the playoffs last season (the Milwaukee Brewers) had a worse team ERA than the Yankees. And the Yankees bullpen was just fine as they ranked in the Top 10 in ERA. The Yankees didn\u2019t have many other needs. Their lineup will remain one of the most feared in Major League Baseball. They figure to win a ton of games once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Dodgers didn\u2019t get Cole, Madison Bumgarner, Stephen Strasburg or Anthony Rendon. They whiffed on all the big free agents in the pool. They will try to see what they can do on the trade market, but they have not substantially changed or added to their roster as their fans had hoped. They won 106 games last season, but they fell short in the playoffs because their hitting just wasn\u2019t consistent enough. They did add reliever Blake Treinen, who was dominant for the Oakland Athletics in 2018 but was bad in 2019. The Dodgers are naturally trusting that Treinen will be a lot more like the pitcher who flourished in 2018 than the one seen struggling this past season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Nationals are the world champions and they retained both Strasburg to keep their starting rotation at the top of the majors. Losing Rendon to the Angels will hurt, though. Rendon was such an important core contributor in 2019, producing an MVP-level season even though he didn\u2019t win the award. They\u2019ve now lost Rendon and Bryce Harper in back-to-back offseasons, which takes a lot of pop out of their lineup. Retaining the heart of the pitching staff should minimize the losses and negative effects caused by Rendon\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Astros did lose Cole to the Yankees, which will certainly lower expectations of how many games the Astros will win this season. A less publicized loss was Wade Miley, a back-end-of-the-rotation starter who went to the Cincinnati Reds. Those losses are notable, but the Astros still have Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke plus a loaded batting order. The Astros are still going to be the favorite in the American League West, even though the Los Angeles Angels brought in Rendon to help Mike Trout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Red Sox lost Rick Porcello, a starting pitcher who signed with the New York Mets, and are reportedly trying to trade David Price, but nothing has happened yet. How this roster shapes up is still a mystery, with Boston mulling over its options but not pulling the trigger on any big deal yet. This over-under total, however, certainly expresses skepticism that the Red Sox will keep pace with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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