Bettors Flock to Bet Padres to Win World Series after Juan Soto Trade

San Diego might be a country mile behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West standings, but its apparent status as a postseason wild-card team did not prevent the public from pouncing on the Padres this week to win the World Series.

Thirty-one percent of Series tickets at the sportsbooks BetRivers.com and PlaySugarhouse.com were devoted to the Padres — given a 6.3% chance to win the World Series by Dimers.com — during the 24 hours after the announcement that they had acquired prolific hitter Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals.

The flood of wagers vaulted the Padres, who trail L.A. by 11 1/2 games entering Wednesday’s action, from eighth to fifth for most money placed on World Series contenders and from seventh to third on NL pennant hopefuls. Their odds shifted from +2000 to +1100 to become overall champions and from +900 to +550 to take the NL title.

Since futures wagering opened this season, 46 percent of money on the Padres has poured in following reports of the Soto deal.

Do you think the San Diego Padres are a legitimate threat to win the World Series after trading for superstar Juan Soto? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/xU3h2GyVrp

— Dimers.com (@DimersCom) August 2, 2022

Besides the outfielder Soto, San Diego upgraded its roster by fetching first baseman Josh Bell from the Nats and closer Josh Hader from the Milwaukee Brewers.

The New York Yankees (+350) remain the team most wagered on in the World Series category, representing 16.4 percent of the handle and 17.1 percent of the tickets.

Three other squads have been popular at the betting windows: the Dodgers at +325 (15.9 percent money, 13.5 percent tickets), the Chicago White Sox at +3500 (15.7 and 13.7) and the New York Mets at +700 (14.4 and 11.5).

In wagering for the American League crown, by far the most favored choices are the Yankees at +140 (39.1 and 37.3 percent) and the White Sox at +1700 (29.1 and 19.0).

While the Bronx Bombers are safely in the playoff field, Chicago stands in danger of falling short. The White Sox hold down third place in the AL Central, one game above .500.

"This is an offense that's going to catapult itself into World Series contention immediately."@joonlee on the Padres landing Juan Soto pic.twitter.com/NlWcIUgjEu

— Around The Horn (@AroundtheHorn) August 3, 2022

The NL also has two clear-cut teams drawing the most attention to win its league: the Dodgers at +165 (35.9 and 40.2 percent) and the Mets (26.8 and 28.4). Both clubs are certain postseason participants.

Support for another NL West member faded significantly as the trade deadline passed. The slumping San Francisco Giants, +2500 to earn the league title prior to Tuesday afternoon, drifted to +6000.

Similarly, the Baltimore Orioles in the AL jumped from +12500 to +40000 after unloading closer Jorge Lopez and ace hitter Trey Mancini.