The Philadelphia Phillies entered Monday 6 1/2 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East and an 8 1/2-1 longshot to win the pennant by FanDuel.
FanDuel has the Phillies at 16/1 to win the NL pennant, while PointsBet is offering Philadelphia at 20/1.
Acquiring 36-year-old starting pitcher Jason Vargas isn’t likely to help the Phillies close that gap significantly, but it might be a needed boost in the tight battle for wild card spots in the N.L. Philadelphia (55-50) is tied with the Milwaukee Brewers (56-51) one game back in the wild card race, with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals each entering the day at 56-49.
If the season ended Monday, either the Cubs or Cardinals would win the N.L. Central, with the other getting a wild card spot along with the Nationals. And the San Francisco Giants are only 1 1/2 games behind the Phillies, with the Arizona Diamondbacks another game back.
With such a tight grouping ahead of the trade deadline, the Vargas acquisition could prove an edge. The 14-year veteran is 6-5 with a 4.01 ERA this season. However, of concern is his 6.23 ERA in 13 innings over four career games at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Approaching the trade deadline, the Los Angeles Dodgers remain the betting favorite with a +275 moneyline (a $100 bet would return $275). Outside of the playoff picture looking in, the Phillies are 40-1.
NL East Winner (FanDuel)
Atlanta Braves: -800
Washington Nationals: +750
Philadelphia Phillies: +850
New York Mets: +8500
Miami Marlins: +100000
World Series Winner Odds (PointsBet)
Los Angeles Dodgers: +275
Houston Astros: +350
New York Yankees: +375
Atlanta Braves: +800
Minnesota Twins: +1200
Chicago Cubs: +1800
Cleveland Indians: +1800
Boston Red Sox: +2200
St. Louis Cardinals: +2200
Washington Nationals: +2200
Milwaukee Brewers: +2500
Tampa Bay Rays: +2800
Philadelphia Phillies: +4000
Oakland Athletics: +6000
San Francisco Giants: +8000
Arizona Diamondbacks: +10000
New York Mets: +15000
Colorado Rockies: +20000
Los Angeles Angels: +20000
Cincinnati Reds: +20000
San Diego Padres: +25000
Pittsburgh Pirates: +25000
Texas Rangers: +30000
Chicago White Sox: +100000
Seattle Mariners: +500000
Toronto Blue Jays: +500000
Detroit Tigers: +500000
Kansas City Royals: +500000
Baltimore Orioles: +500000
Miami Marlins: +500000