Despite Tuesday’s 13-1 loss to its National League East division foe, the Atlanta Braves, one thing is for sure: The Philadelphia Phillies are fighting not only for their fanbase, but making Pennsylvania sports betting even more interesting.
Let’s take a look at the moves the Phillies made at Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline, where they stand in the playoff race and future odds for the team.
The team already has been making users of Pennsylvania sports apps take notice as they are firmly involved in the wild-card race in the National League.
Heading into this afternoon’s game in Atlanta, the Phillies are tied for the third and final wild card with the St. Louis Cardinals, 4½ games ahead of the San Francisco Giants.
MOVING ON TO THE TRADES
The Phillies first acquired centerfielder Brandon Marsh (.226, eight home runs, 37 RBI) from the Los Angeles Angels for its top position player - catcher Logan O’Hoppe (.275, 15 HR, 45 RBI at Class AA Reading). Marsh’s true value, the Phillies hope, is as a proven defensive centerfielder.
The team then traded right-handed pitcher Ben Brown (3-5, 3.08 ERA, 105 strikeouts over 73 innings), who was just promoted to AA this week, to the Chicago Cubs and brought back right-handed relief pitcher David Robertson (3-0, 2.23 ERA, 14 saves), who has had 51 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings.
A former New York Met then landed in another trade with the Angels, as the Phillies acquired right-handed starter Noah “Thor” Syndergaard for outfielders Mickey Moniak and Jadiel Sanchez. Syndergaard (5-8, 3.83 ERA, 64 strikeouts in 80 innings) is a solid addition to the staff and joins another former Met, Zach Wheeler, in the rotation.
Moniak, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, had hit only .129 in several stints and 93 at-bats with the big club.
MORE MOVES BY PHILLIES
In other moves Tuesday, the Phillies claimed left-handed pitcher Andrew Vasquez off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays and optioned him to Lehigh Valley.
To make room for Vasquez on the 40-man roster, the Phillies transferred their fifth starter, Zach Eflin (3-5, 4.37 ERA), who has been suffering with a right knee injury, from the 15-day to the 60-day IL. If everything goes according to plan, Eflin could be back at the end of August, but that is a big if and the Syndergaard acquisition is the perfect replacement.
The Phillies also designated centerfielder Odubel Herrera (.238, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 185 ABs) and right-handed relief pitcher Jeurys Familia for assignment. Familia had been a weak spot in a surprisngly strong bullpen.
PHILLIES FUTURE ODDS
The Phillies (55-48, .534) are in third place in the National League East division, 10 games behind the first-place Mets. The Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres are ahead of the Phillies and Cardinals in the wild-card race. The Padres, of course, made the biggest move of the day, acquiring young superstar Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals.
FanDuel Sportsbook Pennsylvania has the Phillies as a longshot to win the NL East at +8000.
They actually have better odds in Pennsylvania MLB betting to win the pennant (+2000) and World Series (+5500).
Over at BetMGM Pennsylvania Sportsbook, Philadelphia is +6600 to win the NL East at +6600. Again, those odds improve significantly to +2200 to win the National League and at +5000 to win the World Series.
Keep in mind: PennStakes.com is a solid source for betting updates as well as the top Pennsylvania sports promos.
