MLB Odds: Blue Jays heavily outspending Yankees, Red Sox in free agency
The Blue Jays, Yankees and Red Sox are the top three favourites to win the American League East in 2026, with Toronto blowing New York and Boston out of the water in terms of off-season spending.
Here’s how it breaks down.
2026 off-season
There’s still some big names left on the free agent market, but with pitchers and catchers due to report for Spring Training in less than a month, the bulk of most teams’ rosters is set.
The Blue Jays made some major moves in free agency, signing Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Kazuma Okamoto, but lack of spending by the Yankees and Red Sox is just as noteworthy.
In fact, New York and Boston actually lost out on their own talent, with the Yankees failing to come to a deal with Cody Bellinger and the Red Sox losing Alex Bregman.
The numbers are almost hard to believe. Toronto has spent 10 times more in this year’s free agency than the Yankees, whose only notable signing was an accepted $22.05 million qualifying offer by Trent Grisham.
It’s even more staggering when you look at Boston, the only team in the majors not to sign a free agent this year.
What’s clear from the chart below, is the Blue Jays are all-in after their run to the World Series. Toronto has already spent almost twice as much as they’ve ever spent in an off-season and they’re still linked to the biggest name free agent hitter, Kyle Tucker.
| Year | Blue Jays | Yankees | Red Sox |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $113.7 million | $336.5 million | $17.5 million |
| 2021 | $188.1 million | $114.5 million | $38.5 million |
| 2022 | $163.8 million | $21.2 million | $175.3 million |
| 2023 | $104.6 million | $574.5 million | $181.8 million |
| 2024 | $39.4 million | $43 million | $49.3 million |
| 2025 | $156.4 million | $243 million | $94.1 million |
| 2026 | $336 million | $29.03 million | $0 |
| Total | $1.1 billion | $1.36 billion | $556.5 million |
2026 futures
Despite the Blue Jays beating the Yankees in the ALDS last year and spending a massive amount of money upgrading their roster, the AL East is essentially a pick’em between New York at +220 and Toronto at +225 on the MLB futures board.
Boston is lurking at +325 and the Orioles are +400 after adding Pete Alonso. Oddsmakers are essentially saying only the Tampa Bay Rays at +3000 are out of the running to win the division.
Those AL East odds also reflect what a strong division this is shaping up to be in 2026. The AL East has the second-shortest odds of producing next year’s World Series winner (+260), trailing only the NL West which boasts the two-time defending champion L.A. Dodgers.
