Giants Vegas Faves for Josh Hamilton

A few weeks ago, we got ahead of ourselves and passed along a report that the Giants could chase superstar outfielder Josh Hamilton this offseason.

Crazy talk, right? And especially so given that the Giants aren't currently sweating 2013 so much as they're sweating another World Series title.

But according to Bovada.lv, the Giants are actually the favorite to land Hambone this offseason.

Bovada pegs the Giants as 3/1 to sign Hamilton next, with the Braves and Rangers checking in as the other two top favorites at 5/1.

There are a number of other heavy hitters that you'd expect listed as well: the Phillies are 7/1 to sign Hamilton and the Yankees, Cubs and Red Sox are all 9/1.

A few surprises made the list as well: the Pirates and Blue Jays check in at 10/1. And, of course, we couldn't do a list of people who are going to spend lots of money on something without including the Dodgers, who check in at 15/1.

The reality of the list echoes something we mentioned in the previous Hamilton post, though. There simply isn't a huge market for a guy like Hamilton, even as good as he's capable of being.

He may or may not benefit from a hitter's park. He's got age issues. He's got, ahem, off-field issues. There's a concern of relapse. There's a concern his body breaks down. There's a MAJOR concern with handing him a huge long-term contract.

The Giants wouldn't be nuts to go out and ink him to a one-year deal and let him whallop homers in AT&T before picking up one final big deal. But if being the favorites to sign him involves handing out a huge, long-term contract, the team could probably make a smarter investment.

Contact Us