How The Sign-Stealing Scandal Has Affected Red Sox and Astros Futures

We’re still a few months away from the 2020 MLB season opener and we’re drowning in controversy following the sign-stealing sanctions handed down to the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox.

As a result, both teams have dismissed their managers, and oddsmakers have released betting props on who the next Houston and Boston bench bosses will be. The fallout from the scandal has also had a severe impact on World Series futures.

Online sportsbook Bovada has an odds-on favorite managerial candidate for each franchise, with Ron Roenicke at -215 for the Red Sox and Joe Espada at -120 to take over for the Astros.

Why Ron Roenicke Is The BoSox Favorite

As the current bench coach of the Boston Red Sox, Ron Roenicke is the logical choice to take over the managerial duties in Beantown. He was part of Alex Cora’s staff during their World Series run in 2018 and has previous experience as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers for four-plus seasons.

With the Brew Crew, he led them to the NLCS in 2011 and had a winning record each season with the club. He was let go in 2015 after 25 games with the team at 7-18 SU.

While the Red Sox may go with someone who has a proven track record and managerial experience, you can’t discount them going with a beloved former player like Jason Varitek. The former Red Sox catcher was part of Boston’s World Series wins in 2004 and 2007 and is currently a special adviser to the Red Sox general manager. At +350, it may be worth a shot considering the Sox may want to clean house of all bench bosses and start fresh.

Odds as of January 15 at Bovada

Why Joe Espada Is The Astros Fave

Also a current bench coach, Joe Espada is the betting favorite to take over in Houston. Espada joined the Astros for the 2017 season and had been managing different field positions on the diamond for the Marlins and Yankees prior to joining the Astros.

Similar to the Red Sox situation, I’m dubious of a promotion coming from within because Espada was on the squad during the sign-stealing scandal. While Espada may have had nothing to do with it, owner Jim Crane dismissed general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch, and the possibility that the hammer may be coming down on more administrators within the franchise can’t be discounted.

It’s hard to get a grasp on which way the wind is blowing for this betting prop but candidates like Dusty Baker, Buck Showalter and John Gibbons could be quality hires if Crane is looking to bring somebody aboard with managerial experience. Gun to my head, if I had to pick, it would likely be Baker but only because the odds at +950 are so enticing.

Odds as of January 15 at Bovada

How This Has Affected World Series Odds

Looking ahead to the 2020 season, our very own Scott Hastings gave his insights on World Series futures and why the New York Yankees remained the favorite. But there’s no way he could have anticipated these sanctions coming down the pipeline for the Astros and Red Sox and oddsmakers have had to scramble to adjust the juice.

The Astros didn’t see much movement as they were +650 prior to the penalties and are now at +700. With a ready-made roster of sluggers and the reigning Cy Young winner in Justin Verlander, it remains to be seen how much AJ Hinch impacted the club so those odds make sense.

As for the Red Sox, they were at +1600 to win their fifth World Series since 2004 but with Alex Cora parting ways with the ballclub, their odds have jumped to +2500. Some of that could be attributed to Cora but Boston was already dealing with an ugly arbitration case with star outfielder Mookie Betts and the uncertainty surrounding starting pitchers Chris Sale and David Price, who both had down years in 2019.

Divisional odds and win totals are off the board at sportsbooks but bettors should be prepared to see a decline in the opening lines that were out following the World Series.

Odds as of January 15 at BetOnline