Aaron Judge's injury that will sideline the New York Yankees slugger indefinitely has also created a wide-open race for Most Valuable Player honors in the American League. The two-time reigning AL MVP, Judge suffered a stress fracture of his right rib. While he is expected to return at some point this season, ‌he is ⁠now ⁠out of the picture for an MVP three-peat.The new favorite is Houston Astros slugger ​Yordan Alvarez, who is being offered at +140. Alvarez entered Friday hitting .316 ​with 21 home runs, 44 RBIs and a 3.1 WAR. His OPS of 1.077 leads Major League Baseball.The second-shortest odds belong to ​Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Despite the ⁠Royals' challenging ‌first half of the season, Witt is ​batting .281 with nine ​homers, 26 RBIs and a 3.8 WAR in ⁠addition to his outstanding defensive play.Alvarez and Witt top ​the AL MVP odds despite the Royals having ​the second- worst record in the league at 25-38, while the Astros were only 2 1/2 games better at 28-36 entering Friday.Judge's teammate, Ben Rice, is batting .300 with 17 homers, 44 RBIs and a 2.6 WAR. His OPS of 1.030 is second in the ‌majors to Alvarez. Rice also plays for one of the AL's best teams and will have an additional ​opportunity to ​shine in Judge's absence.Rice ⁠is being offered at +300 at BetMGM, followed by Athletics second-year first baseman Nick Kurtz at +850. Kurtz has followed up his stellar rookie year by ​hitting .284 with 11 homers, 43 RBS and a 2.3 WAR through 61 games.No other player has shorter AL MVP odds than Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez at +2200.AL MVP ODDS* Yordan Alvarez, Astros (+140) Bobby Witt Jr., Royals (+155) Ben Rice, Yankees (+300) Nick Kurtz, Athletics (+850) Julio Rodriguez, Mariners (+2200) Junior Caminero, Rays (+2800) Jose Ramirez, Guardians (+3000) Shea Langeliers, Athletics (+3000)