2025 NL East Betting Preview: Odds, Team Reviews, and 2 Best Bets

The offseason was relatively quiet for four of the five teams in the NL East. The reigning division champion Phillies spent a modest $22.5M adding to their roster and combined with the Braves, Nationals, and Marlins, the organizations collectively spent just under $105M. Thank the baseball gods for New York Mets' owner Steve Cohen.

You'd have to multiply the combined contract spend of all four teams nearly ten times over to match Cohen's league-leading $1.01B in new money allocated. The Mets paid handsomely to emerge victorious from the Juan Soto sweepstakes, guaranteeing the GDP of a small island country over the next decade and a half to the young star while simultaneously irritating everyone in pinstripes across the tri-state area.

That shot across the bow from New York to the rest of Major League Baseball makes the NL East the most powerful division in baseball, with three of the top five teams on World Series odds lists. We dive deeper here into each team's main storylines with the 2025 season just weeks away.

Atlanta Braves

2024 was supposed to be Atlanta's year. The Braves led baseball in wins and runs the previous season off the strength of historic seasons from Ronald Acuńa Jr., Matt Olson, and Spencer Strider before bowing out from the playoffs unceremoniously to the rival Phillies in the NLDS. As it turned out, season-ending injuries to Acuña and Strider relegated Atlanta to a Wild Card berth and, soon after, an early ticket to the offseason.

Entering Spring Training, Acuña is reportedly at "90-95%" health, Olson is looking to bounce back from regression in 2024, and Strider is expected to take the mound for the first time since last April. The Braves trail only the Dodgers on preseason odds lists for the second straight year.

If healthy, Atlanta's rotation will be formidable, led by Strider, Chris Sale, Reinaldo Lopez, and Spencer Schwellenbach, even if Max Fried's absence is felt. 2024 All-Star Jurickson Profar is the new addition to their lineup after a career year in San Diego.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies batting order, which produced a top-five scoring output a season ago, will include Max Kepler's left-handed bat as the notable change entering 2025. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber received MVP votes last year, while Trea Turner and Alec Bohm were named All-Stars on the left side of the infield.

Their ace, Zack Wheeler, finished runner-up in the NL Cy Young race for the second time in four seasons, leading a Philadelphia staff that limited walks and racked up strikeouts while ranking eighth in FIP.

The Phillies traded for Miami hurler Jesús Luzardo to add firepower and depth behind Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Cristopher Sánchez. This combination of talent has lifted Philadelphia to fourth on World Series odds lists.

New York Mets

This brings us to the Mets, baseball's big spenders, and the fifth team on baseball's championship odds. New York opened their checkbook to ensure their existing core players, like Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea, stayed in Queens while adding one of baseball's best bats to their batting order and bolstering their pitching arsenal with Frankie Montas, Clay Holmes, and A.J. Minter.

The Mets again have baseball's top payroll and high hopes for a deep postseason run after surging to the NLCS last October. Kodai Senga being healthy is an important cog of the Mets' projected success, and the team's top prospect, Brandon Sproat, is expected to be ready if called upon. With their tax bill for the year, it's hard to argue that anything less than a return to the LCS is a disappointment for Cohen's Mets.

Washington Nationals

Washington's notable new faces include Nathaniel Lowe, acquired via trade with Texas in December, and free agent starter Michael Soroka from the White Sox. Their preseason win total is listed at 72.5, slightly above their 2024 results.

The Nationals and Marlins have their work cut out for them thanks to significant portions of their schedule being occupied by the three teams above. Both squads have longer than +5000 odds to win the division, and the Nationals have the better odds to make the playoffs at around +850.

Miami Marlins

In Miami, new management and baseball's lowest payroll have not raised expectations for the franchise, with baseball's lowest win percentage over the last decade. The return of Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara represents a bright spot at the top of a young and talented if not volatile, rotation, and young hitters like Xavier Edwards and Connor Norby are reasons to watch Miami games on any given day.

2025 NL East Best Bets (DraftKings)

Straight Finish: ATL 1st/PHI 2nd in NL East (+245)
Miami OVER 63.5 Wins (+100)

Atlanta's injury luck went from bad to worse throughout last season, but the Braves still finished only six games behind Philadelphia for the division crown. We expect their loaded lineup and a healthier Strider to offset the loss of Max Fried and lead them to close to triple-digit wins again.

Philadelphia's rotation and reliable lineup will make for good competition, but Atlanta will emerge. As for the Marlins, it's too easy to project them to lose 100 games again and we like the even money offer from the book.

Miami's rotation includes guys like Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer, and Edward Cabrera, who, at their best, can silence opposing lineups while racking up strikeouts. If Norby, Edwards, and others can bring the lineup closer to league-average in scoring, we like the forgotten Marlins to eclipse 63.5 wins in 2025.