Shohei Ohtani Drama Kept Sportsbooks Busy Throughout Weekend

Shohei Ohtani signed the richest contract in baseball history at 10 years, $700 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, but where he would land and the odds to win the World Series were in flux.

The courtship and eventual signing by MLB superstar free agent Shohei Ohtani kept fans on the edge of their seats and sportsbooks in North America busy throughout the weekend. 

Ohtani signed the richest contract in baseball history at 10 years, $700 million with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, but where he would land and the odds to win the World Series were in flux. 

An agency that kept information close to the vest not only flustered sports writers, but secrecy and misinformation made it difficult for oddsmakers to pinpoint future bet offerings. 

On Friday, signs pointed to a signing by the Toronto Blue Jays for the services of the hitter/pitcher. Northstar Bets in Canada had Ohtani to the Blue Jays as much as +3000 in November but dropped the odds to sign Ohtani to +100, the lowest at any point during his free agency.  

The Dodgers remained the favorite to land the popular and marketable Japanese star, even with multiple reports having Ohtani on a plane to Ontario. That proved to be erroneous, and despite rampant speculation, the reigning American League MVP remained in Southern California, where he would make it official a day later. 

Blue Jays go up and down

During that window of uncertainty, U.S. sportsbooks were juggling their odds to win the 2024 World Series. 

According to information provided to Covers by DraftKings, the Blue Jays went from +1600 on Thursday to +1200 on Friday and then to +1500 on Saturday.

FanDuel told Covers that the Blue Jays started at +1600 to capture the title in 2024, but after speculation of a Toronto signing and a slight bump in the AL East team’s bets, the online sportsbook moved the Blue Jays’ odds to +1000. They went back to +1600 following the announcement. 

BetMGM told Covers that 74.3% of the World Series bets placed on Friday were on Toronto, with just 3.7% on the Dodgers. Nearly 88% of the handle came in on the Blue Jays that day as well.  

On Saturday, the Dodgers accounted for 63.2% of the tickets and 63.6% of the handle, according to BetMGM.

Slight odds shift

While Toronto’s odds were a roller coaster, the shift for the Dodgers was less pronounced, but they did become the favorite at many sportsbooks. 

Following Ohtani agreeing to sign with the NL West power, FanDuel had the Dodgers tied with the Braves as co-favorites at +600 to win the 2024 World Series. Los Angeles was +700 before adding Ohtani. 

DraftKings moved that same pre-signing number to +550 after the Dodgers got the deal done. L.A.’s odds to win the National League pennant (+400) didn’t move at all on DraftKings. 

Land of liability 

Oddsmakers probably like their current position when it comes to World Series odds. BetMGM said that since Friday, the Dodgers have 39.3% of the tickets and 37.1% of the handle while the Blue Jays are second in tickets at 32.7% but first in handle at 42.8%. 

FanDuel said the Dodgers have the second-highest handle at 16%, behind only the New York Yankees at 29%. The AL power has produced 18.3% of the handle, second most behind the Dodgers, at BetMGM since the Ohtani news.