Cubs betting favorite to sign Harper in offseason
Bryce Harper is set to hit the free-agent market when the season concludes and the favorite to land the six-time All-Star resides in Chicago.
Bovada released its odds for the likeliest landing spots for Harper on Wednesday and the Chicago Cubs (+150) appeared on top. They were followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers (+350), New York Yankees (+450), and Philadelphia Phillies (+650).
Harper's current team, the Washington Nationals, closed out the top five at +700.
As it currently stands, Chicago would already enter the 2019 season with the highest payroll in baseball, according to Spotrac.
The 25-year-old has ties to the Cubs, as he and third baseman Kris Bryant grew up playing baseball together in Las Vegas and have discussed joining forces in the big leagues.
They even caused a social media stir in November when they attended a Vegas Golden Knights game together.
Harper is expected to sign one of the most lucrative contracts in baseball history, with one MLB general manager predicting in June 2017 that the outfielder could earn more than $400 million.
The 2015 National League MVP is hitting .247/.394/.501 with 34 home runs and 97 RBIs in 149 games this season.
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