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MLB most losses odds: Which team is the worst?

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The Baltimore Orioles set a dubious record in the betting community last season, as their projected win total of 59.5 was the lowest ever posted by a sportsbook.

It wasn't low enough, as they finished the year with just 54 wins. And that wasn't even the worst mark in baseball - the Detroit Tigers managed just 47 victories, the second-fewest in franchise history.

This year, both teams opened with a win total of 56.5. However, the Orioles have since been bet down and now head into 2020 as the odds-on favorite to lose the most games in MLB.

Team Odds 2019 losses
Baltimore Orioles +225 108
Detroit Tigers +450 114
Miami Marlins +700 105
Kansas City Royals +700 103
Seattle Mariners +1000 94
San Francisco Giants +1000 85
Pittsburgh Pirates +1400 93
Colorado Rockies +1800 91
Texas Rangers +2500 84
Toronto Blue Jays +3000 95
Milwaukee Brewers +5000 73

It's not hard to see why the Orioles are projected to be the worst team in baseball, having done nothing to improve a roster that came with MLB's third-lowest payroll in 2019. Baltimore traded Jonathan Villar and Dylan Bundy for future assets, with Jose Iglesias the only new face brought into Camden Yards. The rotation is a mess and there are holes throughout the lineup. A repeat 54-win season might even be a stretch.

The Tigers should be able to cut down on their MLB-worst 114 losses from last season given some shrewd additions. Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron may not shift the needle a great deal, but they will boost the lineup, while Matthew Boyd is a nice centerpiece for a rotation that at least has some capable arms. Still, it's easy to see why they're up there (or down there) with the Orioles.

The Miami Marlins come next, but the price feels way too short. There's a lot to like about a young Marlins rotation that possesses plenty of bat-missing ability, while the lineup should be drastically improved by the additions of Jesus Aguilar, Corey Dickerson, Francisco Cervelli, and Villar. This is a team capable of winning 70 games for the first time since 2017.

The 7-1 tag is more appropriate for the Kansas City Royals following an uninspiring offseason, but there are still enough pieces, especially in the lineup, to keep this team above the likes of the Tigers and Orioles.

One candidate to challenge for the league's worst record is the Pittsburgh Pirates. Letting go of Starling Marte this winter was a clear statement that the Pirates are giving up on 2020. Marte was one of a few players to leave Pittsburgh over the offseason, with only Jarrod Dyson brought in to replace the production lost.

There's no reason Pittsburgh should have longer odds than the Seattle Mariners or San Francisco Giants, both at 10-1. The Mariners may be in for a long season after an uncharacteristically quiet winter, but they have one of the best farm systems in baseball, with a number of players ready to make the jump to the big leagues. The Giants, for their part, did a nice job of bargain hunting for their rotation over the offseason, picking up Tyler Anderson, Kevin Gausman, Tyson Ross, and Drew Smyly.

A Nolan Arenado trade could send the Colorado Rockies plummeting, but even without him, they're not a 100-loss team. The same can be said of the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers, who all have far too much talent on their rosters to be considered here.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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