Baseball fans who love wagering almost certainly will have their New York sports betting apps in place by the time pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Valentine’s Day 2022.
No team in baseball has been busier in preparation for the sport’s official launch than the New York Mets and Monday was proof positive.
The Mets made the biggest splash of the offseason with the signing of three-time Cy Young Award winner and former Los Angeles Dodgers ace Max Scherzer to a three-year, $130 million deal with an opt-out after the second season.
The signing was the latest in a massive spending spree by Mets owner Steve Cohen. The Mets already have signed big bats in Starling Marte (four years, $78 million), Mark Canha (two years, $26.5 million) and Eduardo Escobar (two years, $20 million). Think Cohen is going all in with his money?
And, of course, with the signings the Mets have made, there has been sports betting futures movement. New York hopes to launch mobile sports betting before the NFL playoffs and certainly before the Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13.
The Empire State’s providers and operators are: WynnBET NY FanDuel NY, BetMGM NY, DraftKings NY, Bally Bet, Rush Street Interactive (parent company of BetRivers), Caesars, Resorts World and PointsBet.
Mets Movin’ on Up on Sports Betting Apps
BetMGM NY opened by listing the Mets’ odds to win the World Series at +2000. After Scherzer signed, that line had a solid drop down to +1100. That places them tied for third in odds with the Yankees and Chicago White Sox. The Dodgers (+600) and Houston Astros (+900) are 1-2.
The $43.3 million per year is the largest annual average in Major League Baseball history. In 11 starts with the Dodgers last season, Scherzer went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 0.820. Scherzer came close to earning his fourth Cy Young, finishing third behind the winner, Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers, and runner-up Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Scherzer returns to the National League East Division after six seasons with the Washington Nationals.
Potent 1-2 Punch Atop Rotation
With the Mets, Scherzer will team with fellow righthander Jacob deGrom, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who was putting up remarkable numbers this past season (7-2, 1.08 ERA) before getting hurt.
Scherzer’s historic contract easily surpasses that of New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who is making $36 million per year.
The Mets, looking to the make the postseason for the first time since 2016, have the third-highest ticket percentage at 7.8%, trailing the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves (8.0%) and the Detroit Tigers (15.5%). The action on the Tigers stands out as odd, until you consider a team that has experienced little recent success just signed shortstop Javier Baez to a massive six-year, $140 million contract. Detroit already had inked lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez and catcher Tucker Barnhart.
For highest handle percentage, the Mets are at the top of the list at 26.1% with the Tigers second at 14.8% and the St. Louis Cardinals at 8.3%.
How DraftKings View Mets’ Moves
DraftKings has the Mets World Series odds at +1300, down from +2000. The odds to win the NL East went from went from +800 to +600.
Scherzer, 37, has been truly dominant during his career, which started with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008 before he went to the Tigers for five seasons. He then headed to the Nationals, where he earned two Cy Young Awards and helped the team capture the 2019 World Series.
In 14 seasons, he is 190-97 with a 3.16 ERA and a WHIP of 1.084. His other Cy Young came with the Tigers in 2013.
