The Philadelphia Phillies got off to a slow start and recently fired Joe Girardi, but is there value in their price to win the NL East?

Bryce Harper and the Phillies have a 26-29 record, putting them 3.5-games back of a wild card position and 10.5-games back of the division lead. 

The New York Mets have been on a torrid pace through two months, boasting a 38-20 record atop the NL East, which is also currently the best record in the NL. Pete Alonso’s squad are big favorites through 58 games, where they are -450 to win the division. Even after an elite start to their season, there have been teams who’ve overcome significant divisional deficits after two months of the schedule. 

The defending World Series Champion Atlanta Braves sit slightly ahead of Philadelphia, but both of these teams are enjoying win streaks, the Braves winning six in a row and the Phillies five. 

Firing Girardi appears to have paid off in the short term, at least for Philadelphia, who now have Rob Thomson managing their squad. Heading into the season, there was a lot to like about this Phillies’ roster, but it hasn’t performed up to expectations. Harper and Kyle Schwarber have done an excellent job carrying the offense, combining for 27 home runs and 68 RBI, but there hasn’t been a lot of consistency behind those two sluggers. Nick Castellanos has been off to a relatively slow start, and they’ll need more from him the rest of the way to get back into the divisional race. 

The starting rotation has performed to expectation, recording a team ERA of 3.98, good for 17th in MLB. Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have been solid, but neither of their numbers jumps off the page. The bullpen is an area that needs work, with Corey Knebel already blowing three saves on the year to go along with his 3.38 ERA.

It’s hard to back the Phillies to win the NL East at this point in the year, but they should at least contend for a playoff spot. 

Buy or Sell?

Don’t buy into the Phillies’ recent win streak. Expect the Mets to continue playing good baseball and run away with the division in the dog days of summer. 

Below you can find the current prices of each team in the NL East to win the division on the BetMGM Sportsbook.