The New York Yankees have been on a tear since the trade deadline and have seen their postseason odds vastly improve. According to a playoffs prop bet by DraftKings, the Yankees are -140 odds that they’ll make the postseason, presumably as an AL wild-card team. You can fade the Yankees at +115 odds if you don’t think they’ll make the playoffs.
The Yankees most recently won two out of three games against the Chicago White Sox, with their only loss due to a walk-off home run from Tim Anderson in the bottom of the ninth inning last Thursday night in a cornfield in Iowa during the Field of Dreams game. In the two games in Chicago over the weekend, the Yankees won to improve to 65-52 on the season.
Since their low point when they were 41-41 shortly before the All-Star break, the Yankees went on a tear with a 24-11 clip during a soft spot in their schedule.
Since acquiring sluggers Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline, the Yankees are 12-4. Rizzo is currently on the IL due to COVID-19, but he injected a huge boost into a team that looked dead in the water. Although Rizzo will always be the heart of soul of the Chicago Cubs, he became an instant leader in his new locker room, which the Yankees desperately needed. The team has been rudderless since Derek Jeter retired.
Betting on the Bronx Bombers
DraftKings posted a series of prop bets on whether or not certain teams will qualify for the postseason. It’s a simple yes/no prop bet and, in the case of the Yankees, they’re playoff odds are +115 as no and -140 as yes.
Since 1995, when their late 90s dynasty began, the Yankees missed the postseason only twice in 2014 and 2016. The Yankees were able to sneak into the playoffs last year during the pandemic, but they were bounced in the ALDS by the Tampa Bay Rays.
| Prop Bet: Will the NY Yankees Make the Playoffs? |
| YES -140 | NO +115 |
The Yankees are still moderate shots to win the 2021 World Series at +1400 odds, and are seventh on the MLB futures board. They’re +750 odds to win the AL pennant, which they haven’t achieved since 2009. The Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox all have better odds.
The Yankees are +550 odds to win the AL East, or third-best in the division trailing the Tampa Bay Rays (-185) and Boston Red Sox (+330). The Yanks trail the Rays (71-47) by 5.5 games, but they’re only 2.5 games behind the Red Sox (69-51).
AL wild-card race
The MLB returns to just two wild card teams per league after they experimented with an expanded postseason during last year’s pandemic-shortened season. There are only eight teams in the American League above .500, and five of them are jockeying for one of the two wild-card spots.
The Yankees are fighting for the second wild-card spot, but still have a lot of work ahead of them. The Oakland A’s (68-50) currently occupy the second spot in what could be their last season in the Bay Area. Rumors suggest they’re headed to Las Vegas, but the A’s continue to win despite their thorny political situation. The Seattle Mariners (63-56) have been the surprise team in the AL this season, but they’re also within striking distance of a wild-card spot.
| AL Wild-Card Standings |
- Red Sox 69-51
- Oakland A’s 68-50
- NY Yankees 65-52
- Seattle Mariners 63-56
- Toronto Blue Jays 63-54
The AL East is deep this season with four teams playing above .500. The Tampa Bay Rays lead the way with 71 wins as the top team in the American League, but the Boston Red Sox are right behind them in a two-team race for the division title. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays (63-54) are fighting to catch the front runners with six-plus weeks remaining in the regular season.
The Yankees have 45 games remaining on their schedule. If they finish the season with a .667 clip, they’ll go 30-15 and put themselves in a good spot to snag a wild card with 95 wins. A 25-20 stretch would put them at 90 wins, but that might not be enough to wrestle away a playoff berth.
