Morning Coffee: Yankees odds to win AL East slashed at FanDuel

Alright, let’s start with a Morning Coffee poll question.

Did you ever watch the show 24 with Kiefer Sutherland?

Kiefer played counter terrorism agent Jack Bauer.

Each season featured 24 episodes, and each episode represented one hour of a single day in real time, as Bauer raced against the clock to subvert a terrorist plot and save the United States from disaster.

I remember the show being a massive hit in the 2000’s.

I always wanted to watch it, but I had a lot going on back then and it seemed like every season the show’s clock was down to 12 hours or less by the time that I realized 24 was back on television.

And by that point it was too late to go back and watch the first 12 hours, which means I lost all interest in watching the final 12 hours.

Now 12 years later, I can stream every season whenever I want but since I’m married with two kids and a full-time job, the odds I can commit 24 hours to binge-watching a show that debuted back when I was in high school are longer than the Cleveland Browns to win the Super Bowl.

Speaking of high school, shout out to Elisha Cuthbert – now Elisha Phaneuf - another former Canadian from that show who I just saw in a commercial with her husband and former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf.

You’re both one of a kind.

Anyways, the past 24 hours have been a bit of a blur and if it wasn’t for my morning coffee – another black eye – I’d be struggling to keep up with the pace.

If you read Monday’s column, then you know I fired up the double screens again for the return of Monday Night Football and the Toronto Blue Jays game.

If last night’s NFL pre-season game was any indication, Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals offence has the potential to exceed all expectations this season.

The fact that Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins are all healthy and putting in some serious work this summer is a good sign for anybody with Bengals futures.

Still, Cincinnati remains the most popular bet to miss the playoffs at FanDuel, which is something to keep in mind ahead of FanDuel Futures Day next Tuesday August 26th.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays remain the obvious favourite to win the AL East despite a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, that doesn’t mean we didn’t see a significant shift as the FanDuel traders essentially cut the odds for one of Toronto’s biggest rivals to win its division in half.

The Blue Jays have a comfortable lead atop the AL East, but that shift in the AL East futures market is a good reminder that a lot can change in 24 hours or less.

This is Morning Coffee for Tuesday August 19th, 2025.

Yankees Odds To Win AL East Slashed At FanDuel

The good news is the Blue Jays bats managed to end an epic shutout run by Paul Skenes at PNC Park.

The bad news is they lost the series opener in Pittsburgh, Vladdy Guerrero Jr. left the game with a hamstring injury, and the rival New York Yankees have finally started to show signs of life again of late.

Last night’s loss was also Toronto’s first game with three or more throwing errors since May of 2023.

As the game unfolded, I couldn’t help but think back to last week when former Blue Jay Travis Snider talked about how important it will be for this team to tune out the noise over the final six weeks of the regular season.

Remember, nobody expected Toronto to be a serious World Series contender in 2025.

The fact the Blue Jays have a five-game lead atop the AL East standings with six weeks to go ranks among the biggest surprises of the season.

It’s also a reminder that the perception of a club can change significantly in a short period of time.

Nobody would be shocked if they took a small step back.

Suddenly, there’s a team in Toronto’s rearview mirror that has the potential to make a ton of noise over the final few weeks of the regular season.

The rival Yankees swept a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend to close the gap on the Blue Jays in the AL East race.

New York has won five of six and seven of its last 10.

After a red-hot start to the season, the Yankees hit a wall in the middle of the summer.

Suddenly, their bats seem to be heating up again, and New York is just five games back in the standings with plenty of baseball left to play.

Apparently, the FanDuel traders have noticed.

As of Monday morning, the Yankees were +750 to win the AL East at FanDuel.

24 hours later, New York is +340 to win the AL East.

In terms of implied win probability, that’s a move from about an 11.8 per cent chance to a 22.7 per cent chance that the pinstripes find a way to finish first in the division.

The Yankees are a -126 moneyline favourite at FanDuel for the opener of a two-game series tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays.

After that, New York will host the Boston Red Sox in a four-game series that Toronto baseball fans will have their eye on this weekend.

The Blue Jays, which will be without Guerrero for at least one or two games, are -144 to bounce back with a win tonight in Pittsburgh.

After they left me down last night, I’ll hop back on Toronto to pick up the win on the road tonight as a FanDuel Best Bet.

I’ll also jump on the Yankees to stay hot tonight.

Perhaps it’s premature to think Toronto is in trouble.

At the same time, the Blue Jays still have three more games against the Yankees, three more games against the Red Sox, and a three-game series against the hottest team in baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers next week.

The movement we saw in the AL East futures market over the past 24 hours is significant.

Hopefully for baseball fans in Toronto, it isn’t a sign of things to come over the final six weeks of the regular season.