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Deadline time for the Phillies | Sports Daily Newsletter

Time for a trade to help a team in the hunt.

It’s your move, Dave Dombrowski. The Phillies have not made the playoffs in a decade. Now they sit eight games over .500 with a realistic shot at a National League wild-card spot.

So it’s time to made a deal before the trade deadline today, right? Of course it is. Think of the possibilities for this club if Jean Segura and MVP Bryce Harper come back from injuries and contribute the way they can. So let’s place our order with Dombrowski for a starting pitcher, relief help, and maybe a center fielder who is actually competent in the field.

Ah, but at what cost? The Phillies have prospects they can dangle in a trade, including young arms Mick Abel, Andrew Painter, and Griff McGarry, along with catcher Logan O’Hoppe. But Dombrowski has said he will be hesitant to mortgage the future.

Let’s revisit last year’s trade deadline, when Dombrowski banished pitching prospect Spencer Howard to the Texas Rangers for closer Ian Kennedy and starter Kyle Gibson. Kennedy flamed out and moved on to the Diamondbacks. Gibson? He is 10-10 with a 4.79 ERA since he joined the Phils. Howard is 2-2 with a 5.93 ERA with Texas this season. So this looks like a blah trade for both sides so far.

Dombrowski will be expected to raise his game this time around.

— Jim Swan, Inquirer Sports Staff, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

Dealer Dave, your time is now. Executives can talk themselves into anything at the trade deadline. And Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski sure sounded recently like he’s stuck in the middle of a debate between the wing of his front office that’s advocating for the hoarding of prospects and his inner voice that usually defaults to going all-in. The guy who has swung some huge trades in his long career needs to get dealing — even at the expense of a top prospect or two.

Bryce Harper cleared a major hurdle Monday in his return after having the pins removed from his left thumb, clearing him to ramp up physical activity.

Next: The Phillies open a two-game series in Atlanta at 7:20 p.m. Tuesday (NBCSP) just after the trade deadline passes. Nick Nelson (3-1, 3.94 ERA) gets the bullpen start against Braves right-hander Spencer Strider (5-3, 2.91).

The 76ers believe the proposed arena at 10th and Market Streets will revitalize the Center City neighborhood and improve the fan experience. Those who play and coach the game are also expected beneficiaries of the project because the Sixers won’t have to share the arena’s space with other teams.

“By owning your own thing, you often don’t know what’s coming,” said Daryl Morey, the Sixers’ president of basketball operations. “So it gives you a platform to move to new trends, new important things. … That is very difficult to do in a shared ownership perspective, and [our proposal] opens up the creativity of our great ownership group.

“We’re really only limited, in a building owned by ourselves, by our imagination.”

Backers of the arena say they are now prepared to double the size of the proposed site, from its original location in the 1000 block of Market Street across adjacent Filbert Street onto the current Greyhound bus terminal property, which the arena would replace.

NBA legend Bill Russell died Sunday at 88. We recall some of the Boston Celtics great’s epic battles with Wilt Chamberlain of the 76ers.

Does this person look like someone a player would like to line up against? No? Well, some of Jordan Davis’ teammates are finding out what it’s like to go up against the Eagles’ first-round draft pick. Davis is not only bulldozing others in practice, but also taking pointers from center Jason Kelce.

The Eagles’ second-round pick, center Cam Jurgens, has been among those matched up on Davis and has held his own. He’s looking very much like Kelce’s eventual successor.

Next: The Eagles are scheduled to have their first padded training-camp practice today.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns reportedly will be suspended six games by the NFL for allegedly inappropriate sexual behavior toward at least 24 female massage therapists over a 12-month span. That punishment is not nearly enough, writes Marcus Hayes, who says Watson should be barred for a full season.

Worth a look

  1. Inquiring minds win awards: Our own intrepid soccer reporter, Jonathan Tannenwald, was voted the best of the best by world soccer fans themselves.

Trivia Tuesday

First with the correct response will be featured in our newsletter. How many Hall of Famers have the Phillies traded to the Chicago Cubs?

A) None

B) 1

C) 2

D) 3

What you’re saying about Nick Castellanos

We asked you: Did Castellanos have a breakthrough in the Pittsburgh series that will help the team’s postseason hopes?

Among your responses:

I do not think a few singles will save him from being a total bust. His season long strikeouts and hitting into double plays with men on base tells the story. He should be traded to another club so we can get rid of his overpriced contract and sign someone else. He does not look comfortable playing for the Phils, in my opinion. His lack of emotion gives me the feeling that he does not care that he is a failure here and an underperformer. If Kevin Long can’t fix his swing, then it is a lost cause. He also should not be in the 5 spot — maybe 7th or 8th.

I do not understand why our manager stuck with him batting 3rd for so long. What did he see differently that thousands of Philly fans were seeing? Trade him, bench him or send him back to AAA to get his hitting fixed! — Vince O.

Castellanos has been a failure for the Phillies. — Jim O.

We need Nick, and he wants to succeed. Let’s do what we did for Pat Burrell when he was struggling like this back sometime before 2008. Cheer him wildly and welcome him to his outfield spot and be patient with booing. It really helped Pat and will do the same for Nick. Nick is playing out of position and in a new environment, let’s let him know we’re behind him. Might help him relax. He’s very emotional, let’s use that to pump him up!!! — Mike P.

... Power doesn’t just vanish, at least not suddenly at age 30. Castellanos’ spate of singles, while not proving anything yet, suggests he’s getting his timing back from his extended slump (remember, he did have it at the beginning of the season). It’s only a matter of time and maybe a little luck before barrels and launch angles come together at the same time and place as pitched balls. I for one, a fossil left over from the ‘50s and ‘60s, miss small-ball and good defense, and would like to see its return; but Mr. Dombrowski has made the Phils’ bed and for the next few seasons, we have to lie in it. This team was carefully built for Three True Outcomes ball (with occasional small-ball “outbreaks”), and Messrs. Castellanos, Schwarber etc. will be a big part of any Phuture success for most of the rest of this decade. ... — Marty M.

All weak contact and bloops against poor pitching. Not worth the money. — Harvey M.

I think he’s going to turn it around. — frman155

Reduce his pay from $20 million to $5 million if he only hits singles. He was brought in to put more power in the lineup, not hit singles. — Joe R.

It looks like Nick is first trying to simplify his swing, resulting in those singles yesterday. I think he is seeing the ball a bit better and not worrying about hitting home runs. Once he gets comfortable with this, I think he will then begin to hit for more power. — Mitch B.

Castellanos is a career .276 hitter for his 10-year MLB career. If I were placing a bet, I’d bet he hits between .276 and .300 for the second half of the season. ... He has 8 HRs so far this season. Based on his career stats, he is likely to hit 10 more HRs in the last two months of this season. Based on these predictions, he will end up for the whole season with a .268 batting average and 18 home runs.

That’s not what his salary of $20 million envisioned, but if it fuels the Phillies to the playoffs, and a good showing in the postseason, the Phillies top brass will be OK with it ... — John W.

Join us for GameDay Central at Eagles camp

NEW IN 2022: We’re going all-in on Eagles GameDay Central! Kicking off the season, we’ve got Inquirer Eagles beat reporters EJ Smith and Josh Tolentino tackling the major story lines of the team a week into training camp, plus the most competitive position battles and the latest on Jalen Hurts and Nick Sirianni.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Gina Mizell, Marcus Hayes, Josh Tolentino, Jeff McLane, DeAntae Prince, and Joseph N. DiStefano.