MLB: Prop bets speculate about Harper’s drop spot
Update: Things are happening! Kind of...
As of 3:45 p.m EST, the odds had shifted again. The Phillies were back in the driver’s seat at 3/2, with with Giants falling back to 9/4 and the Padres holding at 5/2.
This line movement confirms our hypothesis of “who the hell knows.”
Original story below:
And still, we wait.
Bryce Harper, the biggest free agent on the open market this offseason, is still available just hours before pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to various sites in Florida and Arizona. The longer the wait, the larger the speculation.
BetOnline, one of the only shops to have odds on where the former MVP will land, updated their odds to show the Giants and Padres as having the best chance to sign Harper. The Giants sit at 1/1 and the Padres at 5/2. The only other team in that realm is the Phillies at 4/1.
Philadelphia traded for JT Realmuto over the weekend, who Harper has notably been a fan of. It did not strengthen their chances at all, but the move did change their World Series odds to 10/1, the lowest it has been this winter.
Down the list at 10/1 stands Harper’s old team, the Washington Nationals. Reports say they have the largest offer that currently sits on the table at 10-years, $300 million. There has been no word on what any other team has offered the superstar, but common sense says they would have to beat that number, which makes the Nats a solid value in this situation.
Harper has met with both the Giants and Padres brass over the last few weeks, making them the most recent teams to have a sit down with the 26-year-old and his management. If you’ve been following this painstakingly long saga, you remember that each of the teams that have met with Harper have seen their odds change in the hours and days after.
So, the real question is, does Vegas actually know something, or is it just the latest in the trend that favors the “what have you done for me lately” team in the race? Do the Giants and the Padres really have the money to throw around that Harper would be happy with, or are they just doing due diligence with their meetings?
All said and done, the answer remains “who the hell knows.” And it doesn’t seem like we’re going to find out before the catchers mitts start popping.