Bryce Harper’s odds of claiming a second consecutive National League MVP award took a major hit following news Tuesday that the Philadelphia Phillies star will miss at least six weeks due to thumb surgery.
Harper reportedly intends to play again this season, but missing a considerable chunk of the campaign will make it very difficult to stay in the MVP hunt.
BetMGM told Field Level Media that Harper’s MVP odds moved from +850 before the injury to +5000 on Tuesday. The story was similar at PointsBet, where Harper moved from +1400 to +7000, and at WynnBet (+900 to +1500).
Harper, 29, has put up MVP-worthy numbers this season despite being mostly limited to a designated hitter role while playing through a UCL tear in his right elbow. The six-time All-Star is hitting .318 with a .985 OPS, 15 homers, 21 doubles and 48 RBIs in 64 games.
He is a career .281/.391/.528 hitter with 282 homers and 800 RBIs in 1,347 games with the Washington Nationals (2012-18) and Phillies.
Whether Harper returns to the MVP chase this season may be tied to whether the Phillies can stay in the playoff picture. Multiple outlets reported that Harper is targeting a mid-to-late August return, hoping that Philadelphia, which entered Tuesday at 39-35 and two games back in the wild-card hunt, will still be in contention.
While WynnBet did not adjust Philadelphia’s futures following the surgery news, the Phillies moved from +1200 to +1600 to win the NL East at BetMGM and from +3000 to +3500 to win the World Series.
PointsBet also adjusted Philadelphia’s division odds from +1400 to +1600, its pennant odds from +1500 to +1800 and its World Series odds from +3000 to +4000.
–Field Level Media
