The Los Angeles Dodgers are right where bookmakers and bettors expected them to be: In the World Series. And after winning the title last October, the Dodgers opened as +450 favorites in 2025 World Series odds.
But the Toronto Blue Jays? That’s another story.
Toronto opened among the bottom third of MLB teams, with odds of +6000 and even stretched to +7000. The Blue Jays weren’t expected to be four wins away from their first title in 32 years.
“If you’d told me that in April, I would’ve been very surprised with the Blue Jays,” Caesars Sports head of baseball trading Eric Biggio said. “At the beginning of the playoffs, mildly surprised. But not surprised once the Jays beat the Yankees.”
Biggio helps dive into World Series odds and action ahead of Friday’s Game 1.
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Underdog Urgency
Preseason, Caesars Sports made the Blue Jays’ win total 79.5. In other words, the expectation was for Toronto to finish a little below .500.
On the flip side, the Dodgers had the largest win total, a hefty 104.5.
As it turned out, Toronto way overperformed at 94-68, while L.A. underperformed at 93-69. Still, the Dodgers were favored in World Series odds almost all season long, and they’re a huge public team that’s taken plenty of action.
So Caesars’ need is hardly surprising.
“We definitely need the Blue Jays. Toronto winning would be a strong result for us,” Biggio said.
That said, it won’t come easy. Los Angeles is now a -260 favorite to win the championship, while Toronto is +220.
L.A. is in excellent form at the moment, sweeping Milwaukee 4-0 in the NLCS. Shohei Ohtani capped the series with a masterful Game 4, striking out 10 in six innings and smashing three home runs.
“Everything is clicking at the right time for the Dodgers,” Biggio said. “In early September, we were wondering if L.A. was gonna win the division. Then all of a sudden, it worked out perfect. Blake Snell gets healthy, Roki Sasaki becomes the closer.”
And of course, they’ve got an all-time great in Ohtani.
No Place Like Home
One thing Toronto has going for it? Home-field advantage.
Should the World Series go seven games, four of those contests will be north of the border.
The pandemonium of ALCS Games 6 and 7 — the Blue Jays won both over Seattle to take the series 4-3 — shows that the home diamond could be a factor.
“I do believe in momentum. And the Blue Jays have the strongest home field in baseball right now,” Biggio said. “The Dodgers are playoff-tested. At the same time, you can see the Blue Jays feed off the home-field advantage.”
However, you don’t have to think back far to find Toronto throwing away that edge. The Blue Jays lost Games 1 and 2 to the Mariners, then scrambled back into the series by taking Games 3 and 4 on the road.
Biggio said that same recipe will not work in the World Series.
“The only way the Blue Jays win the title is if they win their home games. They cannot do with the Dodgers what they did with the Mariners,” Biggio said. “If they fall behind 2-0, I don’t think there’s any chance they win two of three on the road. I don’t think the series is coming back to Toronto.”
If you think that sounds a little like a prediction, well, it is.
“What I ask my co-workers is, bet the truth serum. If you were to give me a $500 free roll, I’m betting the Dodgers. And Dodgers in five games is my prediction,” Biggio said.
If you disagree, though, Caesars would welcome your action, with the book heavy to Dodgers money all season long.
“If you know of any Blue Jays backers with deep pockets, you can send them our way,” Biggio said.
I Like Big Bets and I Cannot Lie
Caesars Sports has seen some noteworthy wagers on both teams in the 2025 World Series odds market. Topping the list is a $140,000 bet made on Oct. 15: Dodgers -165 to win the Fall Classic.
If L.A. can get four more victories, then the bettor bags a profit of $84,848.50 (total payout 224,848.50).
Other notable bets:
- $50,000 Blue Jays +200 to win the World Series. If Toronto lands the upset, then the bettor profits $100,000 (total payout $150,000).
- $50,000 Dodgers 130 to win the Series. That’s $65,000 profit to the customer, if L.A. wins it all (total payout $115,000).
But the more prescient bettors were those who got on either the Dodgers or Blue Jays earlier. Way back on April 12, a Caesars customer put $2,000 on Toronto +6000 to win it all.
Four more Jays wins, and that $2,000 becomes $120,000 profit (total payout $122,000).
Just a few days later, on April 17, Caesars took a relatively modest $888 on Toronto +5000. That bet will cash out with $44,400 profit if the Jays go the distance (total payout $45,288).
Even just a few days ago, on Oct. 17, you could do much better than the Jays’ current World Series odds of +220. One bettor put $8,000 on Toronto +1400, for a potential $112,000 win.
As noted above, the Dodgers’ odds have been short all year. But you still could’ve done much better than the current -260, which requires a $250 bet to win $100.
On Feb. 11, a Caesars customer put $30,000 on Dodgers +250. Four more wins, and that bettor will net $75,000 profit (total payout $105,000). That same $30,000 just ahead of Game 1 would only profit $11,538.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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