Adrian Gonzalez, Jacoby Ellsbury Have Best Odds for Red Sox Players to Win American League MVP

Adrian Gonzalez was considered by many to be the American League MVP at the All-Star break last season. Things slowed down for the first baseman in the second half, but that doesn't mean he's not due for a huge year this season.

Gonzalez has the second best odds at 8-1 to win MVP this year, according to Bovada.

Gonzalez hit .354 with 17 home runs and 77 RBIs in the first 89 games last year, which had him honing in on the Triple Crown. A shoulder injury — and possible complications from competing in the Home Run Derby — slowed him down, but he still finished with a .338 average (second in the American League), a career-high 213 hits (tied for first), 27 home runs and 117 RBIs (third).

Gonzalez says his shoulder is 100 percent, and he'll be playing his second season at Fenway after hitting at least 30 homers in the last four seasons while playing mostly at San Diego's pitcher-friendly Petco Park.

The Red Sox have had two MVP winners since 1990: first baseman Mo Vaughn in 1995 and second baseman Dustin Pedroia in 2008.

The Red Sox were the only American League club with three players in the Top 10 of MVP voting a season ago, with outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury finishing second to Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander, Gonzalez seventh and Pedroia ninth.

Ellsbury is at 18-1 to win the MVP award this season. He had one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history in 2011, setting career highs in average (.321), homers (32) and RBIs (105) to go along with 39 steals. He led the majors with 364 total bases and the league with 83 extra-base hits. He even won a Gold Glove and did not commit an error on 394 chances.

Entering last season, Ellsbury had hit only 20 home runs in 1,372 career major league at-bats. And through April 21 of last season, Ellsbury was hitting just .186. He started the year as the leadoff batter but was moved after hitting .167 through six games. And, unlike most of Boston's players, Ellsbury was at his best last September, hitting .358 with eight homers in the season's final month.

Pedroia has 22-1 odds to win his second MVP. After an injury-plagued 2010, he bounced back with a .307 average in 2011 and set career highs in homers (21), RBIs (91), walks (86) and steals (26). In many ways, last season was better than his 2008 MVP season.

Boston outfielder Carl Crawford is also a betting option at 35-1. He comes off the worst season of his career in 2011, when he hit .255 with 11 homers, 56 RBIs and 23 steals in 130 games. He is an unlikely MVP candidate this year, as he probably won?t play until as late as May after having wrist surgery in January.

The American League MVP favorite is the Angels' Albert Pujols at 6-1. The likely Hall of Famer won three National League MVP awards. Verlander is 25-1 to repeat. Verlander?s teammate, Miguel Cabrera, is right behind Gonzalez on the MVP odds at 9-1.