Something you haven’t heard on the North Side in quite a long time is “favorites”.  That’s right, the 2016 Chicago Cubs are the favorites to win the World Series with 4-1 odds to win it all.  

The Cubs made quite a splash this year in the offseason in acquiring gold glove outfielder Jason Heyward, veteran pitcher John Lackey, and versatile defender Ben Zobrist.  

They also have returning maybe the most dangerous lineup in baseball, lead by 1st baseman Anthony Rizzo and 3rd baseman Kris Bryant.  Although Bryant was just a rookie last season, he is one of the most dangerous hitters in all of baseball.  Rizzo has been the Cubs best player for quite a while now, just about since he entered the bigs.  Rizzo hit .278, with 31 home runs, 101 RBIs (runs batted in) and also finished 4th in MVP voting.

The Cubs also have a couple other players returning as well, shortstop Addison Russell, left fielder Kyle Schwarber, and surprising everyone, center fielder Dexter Fowler.  It was reported initially that Fowler had signed a 3-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles but the reports were false.  Fowler had joined the Cubs on a 1-year, $8 million deal with a $9 million option for the next season.  The Cubs projected Opening Day lineup looks like:

1. CF Dexter Fowler
2. RF Jason Heyward
3. 2B Ben Zobrist
4. 1B Anthony Rizzo
5. 3B Kris Bryant
6. LF Kyle Schwarber
7. DH Jorge Soler
8. C Miguel Montero
9. SS Addison Russell

One thing the Cubs also have now is a dangerous pitching rotation led by Cy Young award winner Jake Arrieta.  Last season, Jake Arrieta had the best season ever recorded by a pitcher going, 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA, but his 2nd half of the season was just remarkable.  Nothing was ever seen like that before, and it will be very hard to do that again.  The rest of the rotation goes Jon Lester, John Lackey, Kyle Hendricks, and Jason Hammel.  The Cubs have a great rotation and bullpen and it should be interesting to see how this season goes.

While the whole MLB has been paying attention to the North Side, the South Side has made some moves that make the Sox a sleeper team this season. While the Cubs might be at a 4-1 odds to win the World Series this year, the Sox sit at a 30-1. Everyone is paying so much attention to the Cubs that the Sox are being overlooked.

While the Sox did not make such a huge splash by signing big time names like a Zobrist or Heyward. The Sox signed and traded for hard nose baseball players that will make an instant impact on the field and in the clubhouse. The Sox picked up utility infielder Brett Lawrie this offseason, Lawrie is known to play with his emotions on his sleeve and is a blue collar baseball player. He will bring excitement and fire to the team that seemed to lack the drive and energy last year. The Sox also traded for third baseman Todd Frazier who is probably the flashiest acquisition from the offseason. Frazier was traded over from the Cincinnati Reds were he hit 35 home runs and 89 RBIs. Frazier will add both a solid bat to the lineup along with first quality glove at third base since Joe Crede. Frazier is also known as a great guy in the clubhouse, he will bring great leadership to the Sox both on and off the field.

The Sox also signed veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins this offseason, this sign could possibly be the steal of the year. Rollins was signed to a one-year $2,000,000 Minor-League deal. Rollins will be a consistent defender at short everyday and will help Tyler Saladino grow as a baseball player. And if Rollins hits like he did in Spring Training then he will be the best pick up of the year. Another pick up the Sox had was OF Austin Jackson, Jackson will be a reliable outfielder for the Sox this year.