Top Suitors For Bryce Harper, Manny Machado Not Among World Series Favorites For 2019 MLB Season

Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are among the best free agents that MLB has seen in a long time, and any team that adds one of them will certainly improve their roster for the 2019 season. But what does it do for their World Series hopes?

When taking a look at the top contenders for the two star players, it doesn’t appear that either one will turn their new team into one of the favorites to win the championship.

The Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals are leading the race for Bryce Harper with the Chicago White Sox standing on the periphery. The Manny Machado Sweepstakes will likely come down to Philadelphia and Chicago if the recent reports are true.

The New York Yankees are considered a long shot to land Machado, who would probably have to take a discount to play his home games in the Bronx. Officials from the Los Angeles Dodgers met with Harper earlier this offseason, but they don’t appear willing to come close to matching the outfielder’s best contract offer.

The Yankees and Dodgers are among the top World Series contenders. New York is tied with the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros for the best title odds. L.A. is the National League favorite and right behind the top-three AL teams.

Of the serious contenders for Harper and Machado, Washington and Philadelphia are given the best chance to win the World Series. The Dodgers have twice the championship odds of those two teams. Four teams are given a better chance than the Nationals and Phillies to win the National League.

Because it’s largely assumed that the Phillies will land either Harper or Machado, their World Series odds might not change much with the addition of one of the superstars. The Atlanta Braves beat out both Philadelphia and Washington for last season’s NL East title.

The Phillies could potentially add another big name like Dallas Keuchel or A.J. Pollock, in addition to Harper or Machado.

If the Nationals hold onto Harper, it can be argued that they had the best offseason of anyone. Washington already signed Patrick Corbin, who was the No.1 starter in free agency.

The White Sox won’t be considered even fringe World Series contenders by acquiring Machado. They lost 100 games in 2018 and haven’t made any big free-agent signings after six straight losing seasons.