With second life, Team USA back to WBC champion favorites
With second life, Team USA back to WBC champion favorites
Field Level MediaFri, March 13, 2026 at 7:08 PM UTC
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Mar 9, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; United States outfielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a two run home run in the third inning against Mexico at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images (Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)
Team USA survived a turbulent run through group play and, despite the significant drama, is favored to win the World Baseball Classic as the quarterfinals begin Friday.
The U.S. opened as +140 favorites to win the 2026 WBC, but those odds lengthened to +225 after a loss to Italy, leaving the Dominican Republic as the +175 favorites mid-week. Ironically, that same Italian team provided new life to the U.S. with a victory over Mexico on Wednesday.
Now in single-elimination play, Team USA is a 4.5-run favorite at BetMGM to beat Canada on Friday, with the team's moneyline sitting at -800 on Friday afternoon. The quarterfinals will kick off with the Dominican Republic also as a 4.5-run favorite over South Korea.
Italy is a -105 favorite against Puerto Rico to begin Saturday's doubleheader, although the book is not currently offering a run line. The final quarterfinal game will pit Japan as a 1.5-run favorite over Venezuela.
Team USA, again the favorite to win the title at +125, is the book's biggest liability, having garnered the most total bets (37.8%) and money (51.2%) wagered on the champion. The second biggest liability is the Dominican Republic at 26.7% and 25.2%, respectively.
Next is Japan, which has been backed by 18.0% of the total bets and 12.8% of the total money. However, Shohei Ohtani leads all players in the MVP prop market, drawing 16.8% of the bets and 17.6% of the money while seeing his odds trimmed from +1100 to +500.
WBC WINNER ODDS*
USA (+125)
Dominican Republic (+240)
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Japan (+375)
Venezuela (+900)
Puerto Rico (+1800)
Italy (+2000)
Canada (+5000)
Korea (+8000)
*BetMGM
DraftKings has the eight teams in the same order, with Team USA offered at slightly higher odds at +130, followed by the Dominican Republic at +250 and Japan at +370.
--Field Level Media
Source: “AOL Sports”
