Angels see their World Series odds soar after Shohei Ohtani agrees to sign

The Angels are looking much better now that Shohei Ohtani is coming to town. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi, File)
The Angels are looking much better now that Shohei Ohtani is coming to town. (AP Photo/Toru Takahashi, File)

The Los Angeles Angels may have finally put a team capable of winning it all around superstar Mike Trout. With the addition of Japanese stud Shohei Ohtani on Friday, the team saw its World Series odds dramatically increase.

Coming into the day, the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook listed the Angels at 50-1 to win the World Series. After the Ohtani news, that went to 30-1.

That’s a pretty dramatic change. When Westgate released its odds in November, the Angels were tied with the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants at 50-1. With their new odds, the Angels would be in the same category as the Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers. Note that those odds are from November and may have changed since then.

While Ohtani should help the Angels, the team is still considered a fringe playoff contender according to Las Vegas. None of the teams with 30-1 odds made the postseason in 2017, though many came close. That includes the Angels, who finished at 80-82.

Despite all the hype about the 23-year-old two-way player, there are still a lot of unknowns surrounding his abilities. Many believe Ohtani can be a difference-maker, at least on the mound. But there are questions over whether he’ll be used as a true two-way player, and whether he can hold up under that workload. The league hasn’t seen a player seriously attempt both pitching and hitting at the same time since Babe Ruth.

If Ohtani is that good, you might as well put your money down now, because it would be tough to see the Angels miss the postseason with the next Babe Ruth and Mike Trout on the same team.

Actually, you might want to put your money on the Angels even if you believe Ohtani is merely a good player instead of a legendary one. The level of uncertainty surrounding Ohtani could mean Vegas is underrating him at the moment.

If Ohtani comes into spring training and merely looks decent, the Angels’ odds will only improve from here. Now is the time to strike if you’re a believer.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik