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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.”

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Greene returning to Reds rotation for playoff push

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Greene returning to Reds rotation for playoff push

Hunter Greene will return to the Cincinnati Reds‘ rotation Wednesday night.

The right-hander will start against visiting Philadelphia after being out since June 4 with a strained right groin. The same injury sidelined Greene for two weeks in May.

Greene is 4-3 with a 2.72 ERA in 11 starts this season. The 26-year-old was selected to the All-Star Game last year for the first time.

In three rehab starts for Triple-A Louisville, Greene allowed 11 runs in 11 innings.

Cincinnati (61-57) entered Sunday 2½ games behind the New York Mets for the third wild-card spot in the National League.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Phillies call up Robertson, 40, for bullpen assist

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Phillies call up Robertson, 40, for bullpen assist

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Philadelphia Phillies recalled 40-year-old reliever David Robertson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday, three weeks after he signed a free agent deal with the National League East leaders.

Robertson made six relief appearances with Lehigh Valley and had a 10.13 ERA, though he had four scoreless outings. He struck out six, walked one and allowed 11 hits and six runs in 5⅓ innings.

The Phillies made the move before their series finale at Texas, where Robertson was 3-4 with a 3.00 ERA in 68 games last season.

Right-hander Alan Rangel was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the 26-man roster.

Over his 16-year major league career, Robertson has a 2.91 ERA in 861 games, all but one of those in relief. This is his third stint with the Phillies, first as a free agent before the 2019 season and then after being acquired in a trade from the Chicago Cubs in 2022. He played nine seasons with the Yankees over two different times in New York, which drafted him in the 17th round of the 2006 amateur draft.

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Ohtani hits 40-HR mark for 4th time in career

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Ohtani hits 40-HR mark for 4th time in career

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his 40th home run of the season Saturday night in the fifth inning of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 9-1 win against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Ohtani hit a solo shot 417 feet to center off starter Chris Bassitt to give the Dodgers a three-run lead.

“That was one of those swings where he was behind the ball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He stayed into the ground. I know he and the hitting guys have been working on some things mechanically. That was as good of a swing as you’re going to see.”

Ohtani was not made available to the media.

The two-way Japanese star reached 40 homers for the fourth time in his career — and the third straight season — after winning MVP awards in each of the previous three years he did it.

He is the third player with multiple 40-HR seasons in the American League and National League, joining Jim Thome and Mark McGwire.

He did it this time in his 115th game, the fewest needed to reach the mark in a season in Dodgers history.

With 45 regular-season games left, Roberts was asked if he thought Ohtani could reach 55.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Roberts said. “Guys like Shohei always look for something to motivate them. He likes round numbers. I know 50 is on his radar. We’ll see how it goes.”

Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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