How Bryce Harper signing with the Phillies impacted Sports Betting

When you sign the top free agent available you generate sales of jerseys and tickets. The Phillies set a record at the Fanatics for the most jersey sales in 24 hours after signing Bryce Harper, beating the previous record held by Lebron James. In the four-day period after the announcement, the Phillies have sold over 200,000 tickets.

Harper has also impacted the sports betting future market. A future bet is a wager that you make prior to the start of the season that include a field of teams or opponents. The odds change if one team improves it position by adding a significant player. Even the oddsmakers are considering this a close race. The Westgate SuperBook opened the Phillies’ odds of winning the NL East at 11-4 and improved those to 9-4 after Harper signed.

Caesars shared the latest odds for Major League Baseball's primary individual awards for the 2019 season, and Harper checks in as the favorite to land the National League MVP at +600 (bet $100 to win $600).

Forbes cited Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA rankings that now have Philadelphia at 89-73, tied with Washington atop the division and two games ahead of New York. Prior to the mega-deal, PECOTA rankings had Philly at 85-77, tied for third with Atlanta, two behind the Mets and four behind division-leading Washington.

The best thing about any future bet is that barring a season ending injury, you have action all year long. Every win by the Phillies and every home run by Harper brings you closer to collecting. I saw a stat that track Harper’s fly ball outs in Nationals Park. It was projected that some 10 to 15 would have been home runs at Citizens Bank. If you can find a future total wager on his homers and do your homework based on how many he hit last year, you may find some value in a wager.