The Bryce Harper market has been fairly quiet if we're being honest. The rumblings and grumblings have been going on for a long time, but we still don't have any legit hardcore rumors to base much off of.
Last week, the Manny Machado odds were updated. This week, we have a new set of Harper odds to take a ganders at following the conclusion of the Winter Meetings.
Bryce Harper Free Agency Odds
Philadelphia Phillies
Betting Odds: +156 ($100 bet to win $156)
The Phillies remain very much in the hunt for both Harper and Machado, though it's still not entirely clear which one they prefer. I think they're just in the mindset of "for the love of God we better just get one of these guys" and don't care which one.
They have the second-best odds to land Machado behind the Yankees and are the favorite with about a 40% chance to land Harper per these odds.
Some believe that Harper would be a better fit as he'd add a left-handed bat to a very right-handed heavy lineup. Others believe Machado is the way to go because of his defense, which the Phillies desperately need.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Betting odds: +260 ($100 to win $260)
Apparently both parties are interested in each other, but rumor has it that the Dodgers don't want to give Harper a long-term deal. Instead, they want to give him a higher annual salary with less years. Not sure if he and Scott Boras would be down for that, though.
Harper has supposedly already turned down $300 million from the Nationals so I doubt he'd want to take a lot less than that even if the deal is making him a lot annually.
You never know what will happen in terms of injuries and performance, and he most likely won't be as valuable of an asset a few years down the road.
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Chicago Cubs
Betting odds: +800 ($100 to win $800)
Before the offseason, the Cubs were considered to be one of, if not the favorite to land Harper. He's friends with fellow Vegas-native Kris Bryant and even named his dog Wrigley, so the ties are there.
Since then, they've hardly been mentioned, though. Most Chicago talks have actually been about the White Sox, which is…odd.
The Cubs have an ugly outfield contract on their hands right now in Jason Heyward, as well as a few veteran starting pitchers making $20+ million next year.
Most of their youngsters will need to get paid in a few years from now including Bryant, Javier Baez, Willson Contreras and Kyle Schwarber. Whether they want to add Harper now and figure the rest of that stuff down the road is up to Theo Epstein and the gang.
Washington Nationals
Betting odds: +950 ($100 to win $950)
Paul Lo Duca's team of choice. When a former big leaguer tells you to take something with a payout as juicy as this, you may want to consider it.
Field
Betting odds: +270 ($100 to win $270)
Mystery team alert! The "field" is expected to be a player, but let's stop playing around here. Field basically means Yankees and White Sox. I haven't really heard any rumors surrounding any other non-listed team.
I don't think there'll be a ton of takers at this short of a price. There's not too many clubs out there that'd be willing to pay him what he wants so the "field" is not as big as it would be in other situations.
