Late Saturday night, the Dodgers agreed to send outfielder Zyhir Hope, right-hander River Ryan and right-hander Brady Smith to Detroit for two-plus months of reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, immediately making Los Angeles the favorite to become the first team since the 1998-2000 Yankees to win three straight titles. RG.org has the full breakdown of the return package and how it affects Detroit’s rebuild. One rival executive summed up the deal simply: “The Dodgers told us, ‘Nah, not this time.’ It’s the same thing they said when they got Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.”
The move landed exactly as expected at the sportsbooks. Los Angeles now sits at +155 to win the World Series, well clear of the Yankees (+550), Brewers (+800) and Braves (+1000). The National League is also a heavy -182 favorite over the American League (+140) to produce the eventual champion, a gap that only grew once Skubal changed leagues. Bettors can track the full board and shop for the best number at BetRivers before locking in a futures ticket.
Deadline dominoes: Castillo, Thomas and Naylor headline early moves
Skubal was not the only veteran on the move this weekend. The White Sox added rotation help by acquiring right-hander Luis Castillo from the Mariners for reliever Seranthony Domínguez, outfielder Nolan Jones and catching prospect Boston Smith, with Chicago absorbing the roughly $30 million left on his contract. The Braves, meanwhile, brought in outfielder Lane Thomas and left-hander Bailey Falter from the Royals for two Minor League arms, giving Atlanta a right-handed bat to attack lefty relievers down the stretch. “Thomas is somebody we’ve been looking at for a long time,” Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said. The Brewers also added catching depth in Bo Naylor from Cleveland, and the Pirates landed closer Camilo Doval from the Yankees.
With Monday’s deadline looming, expect the pace to pick up fast. ESPN’s rolling trade tracker has the Angels (Reid Detmers, José Soriano, Zach Neto), Reds (Hunter Greene) and Padres closer Mason Miller as the names to watch over the next 48 hours, though rival executives believe Miller is unlikely to move given San Diego’s recent surge back into the Wild Card picture.
Wild Card races remain a logjam
The American League Wild Card is bunched tighter than almost any other point in the season. The Yankees (62-49) and Red Sox (59-51) hold the top two spots, but the Twins and Guardians are tied at 56-56 for the third and final berth, with the Rangers just half a game back and five more teams within 3.5 games. Tampa Bay (65-45), Chicago’s White Sox (58-52) and Houston (57-55) lead their respective divisions but are far from safe.
In the National League, Milwaukee (69-41) and Los Angeles (69-42) are separated by a single game atop the standings, with Atlanta (66-45) running away with the East. Chicago’s Cubs (63-48), Arizona (59-52) and Philadelphia (58-53) currently occupy the Wild Card spots, but San Diego has won six of its last seven games and sits just one game back after a rough stretch that once had the Padres flirting with sell-off mode.
Sunday, Aug. 2: Today’s best bets
Sunday’s slate is loaded with quality starting pitching. Zack Wheeler and the Phillies (-141) visit Baltimore looking to hold serve in the NL East, while Gerrit Cole and the Yankees (-127) head to Wrigley Field to face the Cubs. The best value on the board might be Milwaukee, which is a monster -240 favorite on the road against the Angels behind Jacob Misiorowski, who carries a 1.58 ERA into the start. St. Louis gets a plus-money look at Toronto with Matthew Liberatore on the mound against a struggling Max Scherzer, and Miami’s Sandy Alcántara is a small favorite over the Mets to close out the weekend series in Queens.
Deadline week series to watch (Aug. 3-6)
Monday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline will loom over every game on the schedule, and a handful of series carry extra intrigue. The Cardinals travel to Yankee Stadium for a three-game set that could shape New York’s Wild Card cushion, while the Dodgers open a three-game series at Wrigley Field that will likely double as Skubal’s introduction to his new rotation. Pittsburgh, fresh off adding Doval to the bullpen, hosts the division-leading Brewers for a four-game set that runs Monday through Thursday. In Seattle, the Tigers arrive for their first series since trading away their ace, a clear early signal of how Detroit plans to approach the stretch run. The newly reshuffled White Sox debut Castillo in Boston before hosting Cleveland over the weekend.
Weekend matchups (Aug. 7-8)
The weekend headliner is Atlanta hosting the Yankees at Truist Park, a first look at Lane Thomas against his former AL rivals and a measuring-stick series for two teams squarely in the playoff hunt. Toronto, still on the Wild Card bubble at 3.5 games back, hosts Philadelphia, and the Dodgers close the week in Arizona against a Diamondbacks club fighting to hold its Wild Card position. Minnesota and Milwaukee also begin a weekend series that pits two contenders from opposite ends of the standings against each other.
Best bets for the week
Backing the Dodgers as World Series favorites at +155 is the chalk play of the week, but there is value further down the board too. Milwaukee’s pitching depth makes the Brewers worth a look on the run line in any series this week, and Atlanta’s revamped bench should help Atlanta cover as short home favorites against a Yankees rotation that is still searching for a fourth starter. For bettors who prefer to grind out smaller edges across a full week of games rather than chase one big number, a solid betting strategy built around starting pitching matchups and bullpen usage will serve better than parlaying favorites.
Whichever side of the market you play, it pays to shop lines and sportsbook bonuses before committing, especially during a week this unpredictable. Most of the major books also let you manage bets and follow live odds movement from your phone, which is worth doing given how fast the Trade Deadline is moving. Check back at RG throughout the week for updated odds and analysis as Monday’s deadline plays out.