2022 MLB Season Favored to be Shortened at Top Sportsbooks

This time of year, the MLB season should be on the cusp of spring training, with everyone looking forward to the regular season. Unfortunately, the MLB lockout has everything on hold.

Spring training won’t start on time, and it’s starting to sound like the regular season won’t feature the full 162-game schedule. It has been a tough offseason for all parties.

Bovada has given us multiple props for the 2022 season. Let’s check out the odds and discuss each option.

All along, I think everyone believed the MLB lockout would affect spring training, but regular-season games weren’t in jeopardy. However, that has changed in the last few weeks.

Negotiations on a new CBA haven’t gone anywhere, and the MLB has set a deadline. If the players and owners don’t agree by February 28, the regular season won’t start on time. That’s important for this prop bet because opening day is March 31.

At the onset of the lockout, Bovada released odds for the end of the MLB lockout. Let’s revisit those odds.

We could still hit that initial time frame, but we’re running out of time. It’s crazy to see the timeline shift so much, but the lack of negotiation hasn’t helped things.

There could be a change at the eleventh hour, but it doesn’t seem like the 2022 MLB season will begin on March 31. May 15 likely represents the start of the season if the new CBA comes to fruition in late March.

Now that we’ve established the MLB regular season likely won’t start on time, it’s time to talk about how many games we’ll see during the season.

An 81-game schedule would mean the MLB season misses half their games. The 2022 MLB season would likely start in late June or early July to hit this mark. It doesn’t seem like we’ll have to wait until then, which reflects the odds.

The odds tipped us off, but the 124-game mark seems much more likely. Sooner or later, each side will begin to ease their demands. I think that’ll happen as soon as the MLB announces the regular season won’t start on time.

It’s up to you to decide if you want to go over or under 124 games. I just want everyone to be aware of the potential time range. It’s also not 100 percent accurate because the MLB can move games around.

The last two props tipped my hand with this prop, but it seems extremely unlikely the 2022 MLB season will feature a full season. I suppose they could play all 162 games without starting on March 31, but I wouldn’t count on it.

At this point, the players and owners have a few days to agree on a new CBA. We haven’t heard of much progress from either side, so we shouldn’t expect the 2022 MLB season to feature a full 162-game slate.

It’s unfortunate we’ve reached this point because the lockout went into effect almost three months ago. There was plenty of time to at least make progress, but that hasn’t happened. Hopefully, the 2022 MLB season will feature as many games as possible.

The top MLB betting sites will continue to update the MLB market throughout the offseason. Make sure you check them out for the latest and best odds.