PHILADELPHIA, PA (The Spread) – Following the trades of outfielders Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence, the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2012 World Series odds have plummeted in the last two days.
The Phillies opened with 4/1 odds to win the 2012 World Series but their odds dropped to 50/1 late last week. Now they’re massive 75/1 long shots to win this year’s Fall Classic after unloading two of their bats at the MLB trade deadline on Tuesday.
The Phillies traded Pence to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. Joseph, a second-round pick of the Giants back in 2009, has a .256 batting line over the parts of three seasons in the minors. He’s also hit 46 home runs over his first 324 pro games so he does have plenty of pop in his bat. Schierholtz, meanwhile, is an outfielder that has opined for more at bats the past couple of weeks and will get them in Philadelphia.
Meanwhile, Victorino was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for right-handed pitchers Josh Lindblom and Ethan Martin, as well as a player to be named later and cash considerations. Victorino went 0-for-4 in his Dodgers’ debut on Wednesday.
The Phillies still have one of the best starting pitching rotations in all of baseball, at least on paper. They locked up Cole Hamels with a recent long-term deal but Cliff Lee has struggled this year and Roy Halladay is injured. It’s just been a down year for the Phillies, who look every bit like a rebuilding club right now.
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