Oddsmakers already have Royals as longshots for 2018

The 2017 Major League season just ended less than 24 hours ago, and yet some are already looking forward to 2018. Oddsmakers at the Bovada sportsbook have already put out their odds for the 2018 championship, and it should not be a surprise that the Royals are longshots.

According to Bovada, the Royals are 50/1 longshots to take home the trophy next year, although that is far from the longest odds out there. Surprisingly, the Minnesota Twins, who have a young core and were in the Wild Card Game, are longer shots at 66/1. That could be result of name recognition - the Royals have been in a few recent World Series, while the Twins are just getting their winning started. Oddsmakers set lines to induce bets, so the public sentiment factors into their odds.

Unsurprisingly, the Astros are favorites to repeat, followed by the National League champion Dodgers. Here are the full odds:

Odds to win the 2018 World Series

Houston Astros 5/1

Los Angeles Dodgers 11/2

Cleveland Indians 15/2

Washington Nationals 10/1

Boston Red Sox 11/1

Chicago Cubs 11/1

New York Yankees 11/1

New York Mets 22/1

St. Louis Cardinals 22/1

Arizona Diamondbacks 28/1

Toronto Blue Jays 28/1

Milwaukee Brewers 33/1

Seattle Mariners 33/1

Tampa Bay Rays 33/1

Colorado Rockies 40/1

San Francisco Giants 40/1

Atlanta Braves 50/1

Baltimore Orioles 50/1

Chicago White Sox 50/1

Los Angeles Angels 50/1

Kansas City Royals 50/1

Texas Rangers 50/1

Cincinnati Reds 66/1

Miami Marlins 66/1

Minnesota Twins 66/1

Oakland Athletics 66/1

Pittsburgh Pirates 66/1

Philadelphia Phillies 75/1

Detroit Tigers 100/1

San Diego Padres 100/1

The Westgate Sports book has even longer odds for the Royals at 80/1, with the Dodgers as the favorite at 5/1.

ESPN has also produced their off-season power rankings, with the Royals near the bottom at #29.

It was an amazing run for the Eric Hosmer-Mike Moustakas-Lorenzo Caingroup, with a 2015 World Series flag that will fly forever, but all three are free agents, and all three will probably end up signing with a new team. Even with Hosmer and Moustakas having their best seasons, the Royals weren't very good in 2017, winning 80 games and getting outscored by 89 runs. Without a new pipeline of talent to replace the free agents, it's going to be a long rebuilding process, and that's one reason Dayton Moore could leave to take over the Braves (so far, the Braves have been denied permission to talk to him).

In case you were wondering, the Royals were 35/1 to win the 2014 championship immediately after the 2013 World Series. They lost to the Giants in the World Series that year. They were 16/1 odds to win the 2015 championship immediately after the 2014 World Series.

These odds are sure to change once teams make their big moves this off-season, but with nine free agents for the Royals, including core players like Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, and Lorenzo Cain, don’t expect the Royals to be anything more than a longshot. Perhaps that is just what the Royals need to play with a chip on their shoulder in 2018.