The good news for Chicago White Sox fans is that the betting market believes there will be an improved baseball team on the South Side.

The bad news? Oddsmakers still have the 2025 White Sox pegged as one of the worst teams in over 35 seasons.

Chicago’s current over/under on victories during the regular season is 53.5 at ESPN BET and other sportsbooks. It’s the lowest season win total set by sportsbooks in over 35 seasons, according to ESPN Research.

At the same time, it’s 12.5 wins more than the White Sox won last year during their record-breaking 121-loss campaign.

“It’s really hard to have two historically bad seasons in a row,” said Randy Blum, baseball oddsmaker for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. “Don’t get me wrong, though, there’s nothing to love about the White Sox this year.”

Some sportsbooks opened the White Sox win total in the high 40s, but the market moved upward, despite a roster that, on paper, is arguably worse than last year’s. Chicago traded away ace starting pitcher Garrett Crochet and cut ties with several veterans in the offseason, leaving a team of mostly young and unproven players that will be facing a significant talent gap with the rest of baseball.

The White Sox are projected to win six fewer games than any other team. The Colorado Rockies, at 59.5, are next.

In contrast, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season with a win total of 103.5 , the highest since the 1999 New York Yankees (104.5), 10 wins more than any other team and 50 more than the White Sox.

The White Sox open July with a three-game series against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. Oddsmakers said the series has the potential to produce some rare individual game lines, with the Dodgers possibly being as big as “-600 or -700” favorites.

Still, the betting market believes in the White Sox. At BetMGM, 83% of the money that’s been bet on the White Sox’s win total was on the over as of Wednesday. And, yes, some bettors have even backed the White Sox to win the World Series at 400-1 odds.

“The White are currently our biggest liability in all of the futures, World Series (400-1), pennant (225-1) and division (250-1),” said Eric Biggio, lead baseball trader for Caesars Sportsbook. “Understandably at their prices, it doesn’t take much for the risk to add up.”

Rafael Devers will serve as the primary designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox this season, opening the third-base job for newcomer Alex Bregman.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora confirmed the team’s plans Wednesday during an interview with sports radio WEEI, adding that the move shows Boston is “in the winning business.”

Cora’s announcement came nearly two weeks after Devers backed off his stance from earlier this spring, when he declared that third base was “my position” after the Red Sox signed Bregman. The three-time All-Star said on March 13 that he was “good to do whatever,” even if that meant being a DH.

“We made a decision,” Cora told WEEI on Wednesday. “Alex is going to play third, Raffy’s going to DH. We all are in the winning business, and [Devers] understands that.”

Bregman won the American League Gold Glove last season at third base, where Devers has posted poor fielding metrics over the years. Devers has led the AL, or been tied for the lead, in errors three times in the past seven seasons.

Playing Bregman at third also allows the Red Sox to give the starting second-base job to top prospect Kristian Campbell, who was announced earlier this week as part of Boston’s Opening Day roster.

Devers batted .272 with 28 home runs and 83 RBIs last season despite complaining of soreness in both of his shoulders. The Red Sox signed Bregman, a two-time All-Star, to a three-year, $120 million contract last month.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

CINCINNATI — Reds outfielder Austin Hays was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain Wednesday.

The move is retroactive to March 24 and comes a day before the Reds open the season at home against the San Francisco Giants.

“He had a scan today and it’s a very low grade [strain],” manager Terry Francona said. “But because of his history, he tried to play through this last year, and it got him into some trouble. So, we’ve got to nip this in the bud. He’s not sure when he did it.”

Francona said it’s possible that Hays could only miss six games, but he wanted to remain cautious.

The Reds signed Hays on Jan. 30 to a one-year, $5 million contract.

Last season, Hays was sidelined from April 21 to May 13 with a left calf strain. He strained his left hamstring in August, then in September missed three weeks with a kidney infection.

Hays, an AL All-Star in 2023 while with the Baltimore Orioles, returned for the postseason but went hitless with three strikeouts in four at-bats for the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS against the New York Mets.

He played only 85 combined games last season for the Orioles and the Phillies and batted .255 with five home runs and 20 RBIs.