Carlos Correa is coming to Minnesota and so is sports betting. Correa is going to get there first, but don’t think the two aren’t related.
The Twins have never been a hotbed of free-agent signings, making only a handful of moves over the past three decades, and then usually with aging former superstars. But Correa’s three-year, $105 million deal makes the Twins a topic of conversation, and trades for pitchers Sonny Gray and Francis Peguero, catcher Gary Sanchez and 3B Gio Urshela give the Twins a solid infield to go with Byron Buxton and Max Kepler in the outfield.
The Twins don’t look like a World Series contender yet, but since Minnesota sports betting likely won’t arrive until the end of baseball season, if then, they have another year to fill in gaps (aka find starting pitching).
Legal mobile sports betting moved forward slightly this month when HF (House File) 778 passed through the House Judiciary, Finance and Civil Law Committee. It had previously been approved by other House committees. It still needs full House approval before moving to the Senate. It still has a long way to go.
Good Teams Boost Sports Betting Interest
Why are the two related? Because sports betting in the Twin Cities is going to raise interest in baseball from fans who need a wagering fix between the NBA and NFL, and a quality team will raise interest further, increasing ad rates when sportsbooks want to advertise on Twins games and making sportsbook/Twins partnerships more valuable.
If the Minnesota law allows for a sportsbook at Target Field, as has happened in other states, that will be worth a lot more to the Twins if the team is drawing fans.
The Twins want to be a team that Minnesotans are interested in and talk about and they want to raise that average attendance from last year’s 16,000+ per game. Where they’re likely to struggle this year is on the mound — Gray and Dylan Bundy at the top of the rotation are not exactly Max Scherzer and Jacob DeGrom.
Twins Still Have Long Odds
That scarcity of starting pitching has kept the Twins’ odds in the 2022 season in the longshot category: At Caesars, Minnesota is +5000 to win the World Series this year, +2500 to win the American League and +525 to win the AL Central (second behind the -200 Chicago White Sox).
The Twins’ chances of extending their season are +200 to make the playoffs and -240 to miss them. The Twins’ Over/Under for wins is 80.5. Twins 1B Miguel Sano is +500 to hit the most home runs, Correa is +20000. Correa is also +8000 to lead the majors in hits.
PointsBet has the Twins at +4500 to win the World Series, but still +2500 to win the American League, and +550 to win the Central. At BetRivers, the Twins World Series odds drop to +3500 and their odds to win the AL pennant are only +2200. Yet BetRivers has their odds to win the Central Division at +575.
So when sports betting does come to Minnesota some time in 2022 or 2023, make sure you shop around for the best odds.
