World Series Odds & Value Picks 2026: Avoid Dodgers as Massive Preseason Favorites

With the Super Bowl done and dusted, it's officially baseball season, and we're exploring the best World Series odds and value picks with spring training just around the corner.

As expected after back-to-back titles, the Los Angeles Dodgers are massive favorites to 3-peat, but I'm not sure I love betting them at +230 odds in February.

We're looking for some value further down the oddsboard, as we try to take advantage of some pricing mistakes by the best sports betting sites.

🔢 World Series odds 2026

Here are the live World Series odds from our best sports betting apps to help with your MLB picks.

❌ World Series odds & value picks: Avoid Dodgers at this price

Despite offseason additions, I can't justify buying at this price

I bet the Dodgers last year on Jan. 21 at +310, and though they made some additions this offseason, I can't bring myself to bet them at +230 right now.

You could make the argument that the Dodgers will somehow be even better this season than they've been in either of the two previous title-winning campaigns. Los Angeles added Kyle Tucker, as well as star closer Edwin Diaz. The Dodgers will also get full two-way Shohei Ohtani, and I'd expect Roki Sasaki to improve in his second year in the bigs.

However, the Dodgers also have a few very large red flags. Whether it was the result of his brutal preseason illness remains to be seen, but Mookie Betts was very underwhelming last season. His 3.4 fWAR represented the fewest he's accrued in a non-COVID season since his debut in 2014. Additionally, his 104 wRC+ was the worst mark of his career.

Meanwhile, Max Muncy can't stay healthy and Teoscar Hernandez took a massive step back last season. Really, an inability to stay healthy has more or less been the Dodgers' calling card for the better part of the last half-decade.

Everything aligned last season for the rotation, and L.A. entered the postseason with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell in peak form. And despite that, their odds to win the World Series when the playoffs began were longer than the +310 I bought them at during the preseason. Wait for a better price, because it will come.

💰 World Series odds & value picks: My favorite bets right now

🔔 Phillies (+1600)

The Phillies lost in four games to the Dodgers in the playoffs last year, but the three defeats to L.A. came by a combined four runs. It was another brutal end to a promising season for Philadelphia, but I'm buying in again on a team full of talent.

Philly features two of the best pitchers in baseball, and even if Zack Wheeler misses time to begin the season, that shouldn't really affect the team when the postseason arrives. I also think Aaron Nola has a lot left in the tank despite his hideous 6.01 ERA in an injury-shortened 2025 campaign.

The Phillies have a terrifying lineup, a talented rotation, and a solid bullpen featuring one of the league's premier closers. Sign me up.

📈 Orioles (+2500)

The Orioles are coming off a diabolical campaign, but they've made some interesting improvements this offseason, and I'm expecting positive regression from a number of their players.

This is a team that got stung by the injury bug last year perhaps more than any other team, so if they can avoid a repeat of what is essentially just awful luck, I think they'll be right back in the mix in the AL East.

Pete Alonso adds some massive power to the lineup, and full seasons of Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers would be a huge boost to one of the worst pitching staffs of the 2025 season.

🐯 Tigers (+2800)

Tarik Skubal became the highest-paid player ever through arbitration, so we know he'll at least begin the season with the Tigers. I'm going to operate under the assumption that Detroit keeps Skubal for the duration of the season - and hopefully beyond.

Joining Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, and Reese Olson in a rotation that badly needed another quality arm is left-handed ground-ball machine Framber Valdez. Valdez is coming off another very strong campaign in which he had an ERA under 3.70 for the sixth straight year. 

The Tigers didn't really add to their lineup this offseason, but I think continued improvements by youngsters Dillon Dingler, Colt Keith, and Parker Meadows could serve the same purpose. Additionally, say what you want about his Houston Astros teams, but A.J. Hinch knows how to win, whatever it takes.

⛰️ World Series odds & value picks: Blue Jays priced to climb the mountain again

Defending AL champions give me pause at relatively short odds 

After coming oh-so-close to winning the World Series last year, the Toronto Blue Jays are priced as the third-biggest favorites to complete the mission in 2026.

The Jays made some intriguing offseason improvements, adding Dylan Cease to an already-strong rotation that will feature rookie Trey Yesavage, who shined in his brief stint last year. Additionally, Kazuma Okamoto becomes a quality utility player for Toronto, and there's an expectation that Anthony Santander won't be completely useless again this season.

However, I'm not sold on them.

George Springer is coming off the best hitting season of his career, but I don't think he'll be able to maintain at as a 36-year-old this season. Additionally, there are major question marks on the hitting ability of essentially half of the Jays' lineup. Santander, Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, and Andres Gimenez could all be liabilities at the plate. 

Bo Bichette's exit left a gaping hole in the lineup, and I don't think the Jays did enough to plug it. I'm out on them at this price, and in a competitive AL East, I'm sure their odds will lengthen to around +2000 at some point this season.