The San Diego Padres spent, spent and spent some more. When they stopped their payroll was $248,995,932, third in MLB.
The return on investment is horrendous.
The Padres stars have a 23-27 record. They are now 7.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. The season is still far from over, but it is not what the management expected in 50 games.
The Padres need to rally quickly. They are in the Bronx for a three-game series against the New York Yankees that begins Friday. The Padres, somehow, are -115 favorites at BetMGM for the opener.
San Diego pulled off a dramatic 8-6 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday, with a three-run homer from Rougned Odor with two outs in the ninth inning. Maybe that will spark something, even if the Padres aren’t the kind of team that needs a home run in their last at-bat to clinch a series against the Nats.
The Padres’ fun continues. Last season they traded outfielder Juan Soto and ace reliever Josh Hader. This offseason they signed shortstop Xander Bogaerts and first baseman Josh Bell to join a roster that already has stars like third baseman Manny Machado, outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and pitchers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. They have a parade of high profile, high paid players. And they are four games under .500.
It’s been a long time and we’re not even Memorial Day yet. Maybe the Padres will have a big weekend in New York and keep it going. But there’s no doubt after about two months of baseball which team has been the biggest disappointment so far this season.
Here’s a first look at the sports betting slate for Friday:
No NHL, no NBA
Friday night should be fun with NHL and NBA playoff games. But sweeping the Denver Nuggets and Florida Panthers meant there was a small hole in the schedule. We’ll have to wait until Saturday for more playoff action.
The rest of MLB
It was a pretty normal Friday night in the MLB. The best matchup might be the Tampa Bay Rays, who are up to 22 games over .500 at 37-15, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are not as strong as they have been in recent seasons but they are still 31-20, first place in the NL West. The Rays are -120 favorites for the first game of what should be an incredible series.
What is the best bet?
I’m going with the Yankees. Joe Musgrove is on the mound for the Padres and that is why they are favored, but Musgrove has not been good this season. At some point the Padres might give us some betting value, but until then they should be a worthwhile team to lose.
