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  • Jose Abreu and Freddie Freeman captured the AL and NL MVP awards, respectively, in the COVID-shortened 2020 MLB season
  • See how the odds shifted over the course of the season for Abreu, Freeman, and the other MVP contenders in both leagues
  • Looking for this season’s AL and NL MVP odds?

The 2020 MLB season will forever be remembered as a fanless, 60-game anomaly. For Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu and Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, it will also be remembered as the year they captured their first MVP awards.

The graphs below show how the odds for Abreu, Freeman, and all the other MVP contenders shifted in 2020.

2020 AL MVP Odds

  • Nov. 2: The three finalists in the AL are Jose Abreu (White Sox), DJ LeMahieu (Yankees), and Jose Ramirez (Indians).
  • Sep. 15: Twins DH Nelson Cruz has taken over as the favorite at +125, followed by Shane Bieber at +200.
  • Sep. 9: CLE pitcher Shane Bieber (+400) is the AL MVP favorite with fewer than 20 games remaining.
  • Sep. 1: Tampa’s Brandon Lowe has supplanted Mike Trout as the AL MVP favorite.
  • Aug. 25: Copious changes at the top see Brandon Lowe (+450), Jose Abreu (+950), and Luke Voit (+1100) become top-five favorites.
  • Aug. 11: Judge (+257) is closing the gap on Trout (+217). Judge leads the AL in both RBI (19) and home runs (8).
  • July 8: Mike Trout’s odds got even longer, going from +119 to +128, while three other top-five contenders got shorter (Lindor, Bregman, and Torres).
  • June 26: The increased volatility of a 60-game season has led to perennial favorite Mike Trout dropping from +106 to +119.
  • Apr. 30: The prospect of a significantly shortened season has bettors fading Trout, who’s dropped to +106. Smaller sample sizes lead to increased variability.
  • Feb. 28: The much-despised Alex Bregman is actually rising up the board a little; his odds improved from +1500 to +1414 in the last two weeks.
  • Feb. 14: Early money seems to be on 2015 MVP Josh Donaldson, who’s improved from +6600 to +3300 as he gets set to join a mashing Twins lineup.
  • Feb. 5: Mike Trout’s opening odds are a ludicrously short +100, giving him a 50% implied probability. Trout has won three MVP awards in eight full seasons.

Final AL MVP Odds

Player (Team)  Odds
Nelson Cruz (Twins) +125
Shane Bieber (Indians) +200
Jose Abreu (White Sox) +550
Mike Trout (Angels) +700
Tim Anderson (White Sox) +900
Luke Voit (Yankees) +2000

Odds as of Sep. 15, 2020.

Looking for the latest MLB odds? – Get current moneyline odds, run lines, and totals for all upcoming games today here.

2020 NL MVP Odds

  • Nov. 2: The finalists in the NL are Mookie Betts (Dodgers), Freddie Freeman (Braves), and Manny Machado (Padres).
  • Sep. 15: A mini-slump for Tatis Jr (+250) has allowed Betts (also +250) to close the gap entirely.
  • Sep. 9: Tatis Jr keeps mashing for the surgeoning Padres, leading his MVP odds to shorten to +125. Some books now have him as the odds-on favorite.
  • Sep. 1: The Cubs’ Ian Happ is the newest entry to the top ten; he went from off the board to +2000 over the past seven days.
  • Aug. 24: Giants OF Mike Yastrzemski (+483) makes his first appearance on the board as the second-favorite to Tatis (+417).
  • Aug. 11: Betts remains the favorite but his odds have faded from +528 to +667. Tatis Jr. has seen the biggest improvement among the top-ten favorites (+1133 to +733).
  • July 8: Like Trout in the AL, NL favorite Mookie Betts saw his MVP odds fade slightly in early July (+468 to +528).
  • June 25: The first update in the 60-game season era sees Betts (+468) get longer, while second and third-favorites Acuna (+550) and Yelich (+613) both got shorter.
  • Apr. 30: Four of the top-five favorites got longer (Betts, Yelich, Acuna, Bellinger) but Juan Soto soared from +1100 to +844.
  • Feb. 28: Pete Alonso has made the biggest gains in the latest update, going from +3900 to +3400.
  • Feb. 14: Betts is back to front-runner status at +425, while Acuna has fallen from +463 to +500.
  • Feb. 7: Now that more books have posted odds, Betts has fallen behind Acuna Jr, Yelich, and Bellinger.
  • Feb. 6: After being dealt from the Red Sox to the Dodgers, Mookie Betts immediately opened as the 2020 NL MVP favorite at +500.

Final NL MVP Odds

Player (Team) Odds
Fernando Tatis Jr (Padres) +250
 Mookie Betts (Dodgers) +250
Freddie Freeman (Braves) +450
Corey Seager (Dodgers) +700
Marcell Ozuna (Braves) +800
Michael Conforto (Mets) +800
Juan Soto (Nationals) +900
Manny Machado (Padres) +1400
 Trea Turner (Nationals) +1800

Odds as of Sep. 15th, 2020.


Archived Cy Young Odds: 2019, 2018