The Washington Nationals shook up baseball on Tuesday, trading star outfielder Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the San Diego Padres for a haul of prospects.
Soto joining the Padres significantly impacts the baseball landscape as the young slugger joins Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, but what does it mean for the betting market?
Prior to the deal, the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals were the three teams rumored to have the most interest.
The Dodgers sat at the top of World Series odds board at +350, in a tie with the New York Yankees. The Padres were +1500. The Cardinals were +3300.
All MLB odds above are via PointsBet.
In the moments leading up to the trade, the Padres dropped to +1200 at PointsBet. Across the rest of the market, San Diego was +1200 at Caesars, +1100 at FanDuel and +1000 at BetMGM.
San Diego could've been had as long as +2000 on Tuesday morning.
Entering play on Tuesday, Soto is hitting .246 with an .894 OPS and 21 home runs. His 91 walks lead all of baseball.
Soto struggled in May and June, at least by his standards. His .817 OPS in May was well below his career average of .966. June was even worse: Soto hit .195 with a .772 OPS.
But he came alive in July, hitting six home runs with a .315 batting average and a more Soto-like 1.111 OPS.
Joining Soto in San Diego is teammate Josh Bell, who is hitting .301 with 14 homers and an .877 OPS on the year.
