Sports odds don’t always give Washington much respect in the National League but the Nationals are expected to be improved this season, even without outfielder Elijah Dukes. The Nationals released Dukes on Wednesday and that was a surprise in sports betting online considering Dukes was the leading candidate to be their starting right fielder.
Sports betting numbers list Washington as a 100-1 longshot to win the World Series but the Nationals do have some players that are getting attention including pitcher Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals will not have Dukes though as he was let go. “I don’t know what to say. It felt a little funny,” Dukes said, “I guess I wasn’t expecting it. … That’s part of baseball. No big deal, no hard feelings. Just part of the game.”
The Nationals said that the move to release Dukes was based on performance but if you look at little closer you can see that they didn’t want Dukes in the clubhouse. “Elijah was great,” Riggleman said. “He’s done his work. He’s got no issues. It’s just a baseball decision.” Dukes has had many problems in the past including suspensions, confrontations, etc, but supposedly none of those were an issue with the Nationals. Dukes has been an official bust as a baseball player. Sports betting statistics show that he has hit.242 with 31 homers and 123 RBIs in three seasons with Tampa Bay and Washington.
His numbers as sports betting online info indicated have not been very good but if you listen to the Nationals closely it was obvious they didn’t want Dukes in the clubhouse. “There was no singular incident that caused us to release Elijah Dukes,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “It was a performance-based decision. With the ballclub we have now, I think the clubhouse will be more cohesive group. I think that the chemistry will continue to be great. We think were going to be a better ballclub moving forward.”
The Nationals were said to be looking to trade Dukes but got no interest. Washington could have sent him to the minors but it was obvious they didn’t want him in the organization. “We thought he’s a major league player,” Rizzo said. “We didn’t think it would help his development by sending him down to the minor leagues. We felt that it was best for him to get a fresh start with a different organization, and for us to move on.”