Changing of the guard | Sports Daily Newsletter

Turns out, the last time we saw Rhys Hoskins on the field as a Phillie was when he was throwing out the first pitch of Game 1 of the wild-card series. Most likely, anyway.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski revealed Wednesday that the team would be shifting Bryce Harper to first base full time.

And with Kyle Schwarber the full-time designated hitter, that leaves no room in the everyday lineup for Hoskins, who missed the season after tearing his ACL in spring training.

It’s understandable — Harper did a good job after making the move to first this season — but it’s still a bittersweet day as the organization signals its intent to move on from its longest-tenured position player.

But it’s not like Hoskins, a free agent, won’t have options — he averaged 36 homers per 162 games with an .846 OPS, after all. What he’ll command on the open market likely is more than the Phillies can give him. Marcus Hayes looks back on the tenure of a player who was here for the team in bad times and good, a player who let us into his personal life and meant so much to the Phillies, on the field and off.

— Maria McIlwain, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓ Do you think making Harper the permanent first baseman is the right move? Why or why not? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

The 76ers know where their bread is buttered. No matter who joins or leaves the 76ers, Joel Embiid will remain the engine of the team. One story communicated that after the Sixers put the Wizards in the spin cycle, running pick-and-roll with Embiid and Tyrese Maxey over and over until the reigning MVP had accumulated 48 points. Embiid later confirmed that he told head coach Nick Nurse, “Don’t even call nothing anymore. Let’s just keep running it.” What was Nurse’s response? “I said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Nurse recalled after Tuesday’s practice. “So we did it.”

Embiid collected 27 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots as the Sixers held on to beat the Boston Celtics, 106-103.

Next: The Sixers hit the road again, heading out to Detroit to play against the Pistons on Friday at Little Caesars Arena. (7 p.m., NBCSP).

Morgan Frost was the Flyers’ fourth-leading scorer last season with 46 points and began the season as the team’s second-line center. Fast forward a few weeks and Frost has been a healthy scratch more often (seven times) than he has been in the lineup (six times).

What’s going on with Frost? Here’s a breakdown of where he stands under John Tortorella and what it could mean for his long-term future with the Flyers.

Next: The Flyers play Game 2 of their road trip on Friday against the Ducks in Anaheim (10 p.m., NBCSP).

The Eagles received more bad news on the injury front on Wednesday as it was revealed that linebacker Nakobe Dean will miss time with a Lisfranc sprain in his left foot.

Dean, who missed four games earlier this season with a right foot injury, is expected to land back on injured reserve. The second-year linebacker, who began the season as the team’s defensive play-caller, initially slid to the third round in the draft because of long-term injury concerns.

While the Eagles are on bye week, Jason Kelce will be working Thursday as he is set to make a guest appearance on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football.

Next: After the bye week, the Eagles will visit the Chiefs on Monday Night Football on Nov. 20 at 8:15 p.m. (6ABC, ESPN).

The Union were missing three starters because of injuries and a suspension, but they fought their way past the New England Revolution, 1-0, to finish off their first-round playoff series in two games. Chris Donovan scored the game’s only goal in the 79th minute, redirecting a free kick from Jack McGlynn.

Next: The Union will visit No. 1 overall seed FC Cincinnati on Nov. 25 or 26.

New frontier: It was a new day for the Big 5 as Drexel debuted against La Salle, but some things remained the same.

Future footballers: How a former Union academy director nurtured a Philly-to-Penn State pipeline.

We asked you: Do you think the Eagles will come out stronger following the bye week? Why or why not? Among your responses:

I think the break will be a real positive for the Birds. Hurts will be able to heal more, the other players who are banged up will be able to heal and Goedert will be 2 weeks into his surgical rehab. They have to be concerned about coming out flat against KC. We all know Andy’s record after a bye, so hopefully the Birds rest this week and practice strong next week. — Tom G.

I am usually not a believer in the bye week, but in this situation I think it’s very necessary. The Eagles are pretty banged up right now and I have a lot of concern for Hurts’ knee. They also need to prepare for replacing Goedert, potentially long-term. It will be a good thing for the Birds. — Kathy T.

I of course want the Eagles to win all their games, but I can buy into Mike Sielski’s prognostication here. Beat up physically as they are and playing without Goedert and with Jalen not able to immobilize defenses with his running, I think beating KC on their field would be a stretch. And too I can see us losing in Dallas although that always hurts, but remember how many yards they ran up on us in our house and how close they came to winning that game. And lastly yes, we almost never do well in Seattle so I will go with Mike and his 13-4 prediction. Hopefully that will put us 1st in the East and then another winning run through the playoffs to a rematch with the Chiefs in February. — Everett S.

With the exception of Goedert they should be in relatively good shape injury wise. They better be. Murderer’s Row awaits them! — Jack H.

As we all know and remember when it came to bye weeks, there is no one better than Andy Reid. Especially when it came to playing an opponent in our division. Well, here we are. Do our coaches and players know what it will take to beat the KC Chiefs? My solution is, play our Eagle style of football. That is our defense continuous pressure on Mahomes and keeping our balanced attack of running plays and our passing game. Bottom line, control the ball and keep that clock running and keeping the Chiefs offense sitting on the bench. — Pete B.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Alex Coffey, Marcus Hayes, Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, Gustav Elvin, Jeff McLane, Jonathan Tannenwald, Mike Jensen, Max Ralph, and Anders Pryor.

That’s it from me — I’ll be waiting with bated breath for MLB’s hot stove season to begin in earnest. In the meantime, Jim will have you covered tomorrow! — Maria

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