Mookie Betts’ hand injury has blown the National League MVP race wide open.
The Dodgers’ shortstop, who suffered a fractured left hand Sunday and is expected to miss six to eight weeks, was a heavy favorite at sportsbooks before the injury.
Betts was hitting .304/.405/.488 with 10 home runs while playing the most important position on the diamond full-time for the first time in his career.
He’s fallen from a +145 frontrunner at FanDuel Sportsbook before the hand fracture all the way down to 50/1, which is tied for the eighth-best odds in the NL.
With Betts out of the picture, his teammate, Shohei Ohtani, took over pole position in the race.
Ohtani, who jumped from +450 pre-injury to +145 as of Wednesday, has 20 home runs, 16 stolen bases, 20 doubles and a .316/.388/.608 slash line through Tuesday’s play.Â
After undergoing elbow surgery last offseason, Ohtani is serving as a designated hitter in 2024 for the Dodgers, dinging his MVP chances – no player has ever won an MLB MVP award playing only DH.Â
But before Ohtani can run away with the award, Bryce Harper (+290) will have something to say about it.
Harper is hitting 282/.390/.516 with 15 home runs for the Phillies, who are an NL-best 49-24 and eight games clear of the Braves in the NL East.
The pair are trailed by Marcell Ozuna (+800), who is the only other player better than 10/1.
Learn all you need to know about MLB Betting
- Read about the Best Baseball Betting Sites
- Learn all about How to Bet on Baseball
- Get the latest World Series Odds
Ozuna is truly contending for the NL Triple Crown nearly halfway through the season, leading the Senior Circuit in home runs (20) and RBIs (63), while hitting .320.
The latest shakeup on the odds board follows Ronald Acuna Jr’s season-ending ACL tear, which ended his chances at back-to-back NL MVPs after opening the season as the favorite to repeat.