National League East Betting Preview
The Atlanta Braves finished at the top of the National League East last season and went on to win the World Series, but they ended the regular season with a record that would have failed to make the playoffs in the American League. Will the division be stronger in 2022? Sportsmemo MLB handicapper JM Sports shares his thoughts on the 2022 version of the National League East.
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2022 National League East Division Odds
The Phillies finished second in the National League East in 2021 at just two games over .500. The other three teams in the division finished below .500 and were several games behind a division leader that posted the lowest win total among MLB division champs last season. How much improvement will we see this season?
2022 National League East Odds | Courtesy of Caesars as of April 6 |
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Atlanta Braves | +120 |
New York Mets | +225 |
Philadelphia Phillies | +300 |
Miami Marlins | +1500 |
Washington Nationals | +5000 |
Atanta Braves
The Braves lost some big names this offseason, including Freddie Freeman, Jorge Soler and Joc Pederson. Drew Smyly has departed after posting an 11-4 record in the 23 games started.
To replace Freeman, Atlanta added Matt Olson, one of the big names the Athletics parted ways with. They also added Brock Holt, who could be a potential replacement to Soler and Pederson, as one of Brock Holt’s biggest advantages is his ability to play nearly anywhere in the field.
Atlanta also bolstered their bullpen adding near 20 combined years of service in the signings of Kirby Yates and Darren O’Day. They also added Kenley Jensen, one of the most coveted arms in the bullpen this off-season.
New York Mets
The Mets lost a lot of pieces this offseason, but they countered that with two of the biggest additions to their starting rotation. They parted ways with Rich Hill, Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndegaard from the starting rotation, plus Dellin Betances and Brad Hand decided to go their separate ways out of New York’s bullpen. They also lost Jonathon Villar, Javier Baez, and Michael Confronto from the field.
New outfield additions Starlin Marte and Mark Canha will be looked upon to boost the Mets’ struggling offense. The Mets will turn to Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt to replace the likes of Syndegaard and Stroman in the rotation, along with the addition of Adam Ottavino in the bullpen.
Scherzer ended last season 15-4, posting an impressive ERA of just 2.46 in 30 starts, fanning 236 batters in 179.1 IP for Washington and the LA Dodgers.
Bassitt was nearly as impressive, spending last season in Oakland he ended the season with a record of 12-4, and a 3.15 ERA in 27 starts, all while striking out just over one batter per inning in 157.1 IP. Both of those pitchers alongside Jacob DeGrom make for a solid rotation.
Washington Nationals
Washington may have finished last in the division last season, but they seemingly retained a large majority of their roster, losing just two noticeable pieces in the likes of Ryan Zimmerman and Alex Avila.
While, they didn’t sign the biggest names this off-season, they signed multiple pieces in the offseason that could potentially be difference makers in the upcoming endeavor. They added Tyler Clippard and Sean Doolittle in the bullpen, and while they are both 35+ years old, they have combined for 21 seasons in the majors and they definitely know their way around a pitching mound. The Nationals also added Anibal Sanchez back to their roster after a one year hiatus, hoping to pair him with Stephen Strasburg against in their starting rotation.
When it comes to adding bats, they added multiple players that can be utilized in a multitude of opportunities and positions, adding Dee Gordan, who has played nearly everywhere in his career, along with Cesar Hernandez. Washington also added two big bats in Nelson Cruz, who has continued to crush the ball even at the age of 41, and Maikel Franco who has shown flashes of potential during his MLB career.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies ended the year in second place in the National League East, but their record of 82-80 wasn’t astounding by any means. The Phillies added to add two big bats this offseason by welcoming Nick Castellanos, who hit over .300 for Cincinnati last season, while accounting for nearly 200 runs, driving in 100 RBI’s and scoring 95 runs for himself, plus Kyle Schwarber, who should be able to add a little more power to the offense. Veteran relief pitcher Brad Hand has been brought in to help improve the Phillies’ struggling bullpen.
Miami Marlins
Miami found themselves near the bottom of the division, just two games ahead of Washington in the race to stay out of the bottom of the National League East. While Miami didn’t lose any valuable pieces, they also didn’t add a lot to propel this team to chase for the division.
The Marlins acquired Joey Wendle from the Rays, who is a valuable young middle infielder, but not a player worthy of breaking the bank or drastically changing expectations for this team. They also added two solid outfield options in Jorge Soler and Delino DeShields while keeping a bulk of their pitching staff identical to the end of last season.
Interested in placing a bet on the 2022 National League East division odds? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.
2022 National League Preview | First Pitch
Play ball! After a very interesting offseason, the 2022 MLB season will kick off on Thursday, April 7. Join Drew Martin, Tony Finn and Adam Trigger for First Pitch as we preview the National League futures market. Which teams are poised to overachieve based on their projected win totals? Which favorites are on upset alert in their division? Join our team of MLB betting experts every weekday at 1:45pm ET / 10:45am PT for First Pitch as we discuss the baseball betting slate.
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Meet the Author
Jeff’s hunger for handicapping began at a young age being surrounded by parents that made sports betting a daily routine. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of other Cleveland handicappers like Marc Lawrence, Phil Steele, Ralph Michaels, Ed Meyer and Bryan Leonard, Jeff started his sports betting career working for both Northcoast Sports and Phil Steele Publications learning the intricacies of sports betting and becoming a profitable handicapper. Through out his college years, Jeff’s mathematical and analytical prowess helped him develop a betting strategy that turned sports betting into a profitable venture, where he focuses on the NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball and MLB while showing strong results in the WNBA.
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