Nola’s back. Now what? | Sports Daily Newsletter

The Phillies didn’t waste any time addressing their biggest offseason need — solidifying their starting rotation — and they didn’t have to look very far to do so.

On Sunday, the Phillies announced they reached a seven-year deal with veteran starter Aaron Nola that sources say is worth $172 million and will keep Nola, who has never pitched anywhere else, in red pinstripes until he’s 37 years old.

That’s the fourth-richest deal among starting pitchers — meaning it doesn’t come without risks for the Phillies, especially in the later years. But if the Phillies’ window is now, those later years matter less. And Nola’s contract, while lucrative, still leaves the team with the financial flexibility to add the other pieces they need this offseason.

“By keeping him in the fold, they achieve some near-term certainty with their rotation. They also give themselves an opportunity to focus on ways to build upon last year’s roster,” writes columnist David Murphy.

“They also have some room to maneuver if a bigger-ticket free agent or trade target becomes a possibility,” he adds.

We’ve got more below from Alex Coffey on one potential name the Phillies may still target even after signing Nola, as well as some reporting from Scott Lauber on who the Phillies had to out-bid to retain the veteran righty.

Oh, and the Eagles visit the Chiefs in a Super Bowl rematch tonight. Happy Monday.

— Matt Mullin, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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You’ve survived another Sunday without Eagles football. At least this week, your wait is rewarded with a game. And not just any game, but a meeting of the top two teams in football.

This matchup between the Eagles and Chiefs boasts two quarterbacks who are the “face of the league” in Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes. It also features a shot at redemption for cornerback James Bradberry, whose defensive holding penalty late in the Super Bowl helped set up the Chiefs’ game-winning field goal.

“Life really is about accountability,” Bradberry said. “That’s how you get better as a person, on and off the field ... so I had to own up to it.”

Now, with the secondary struggling despite the Eagles’ overall success, Bradberry is setting a new goal for himself.

Next: The Eagles, who will be getting Cam Jurgens back from injury, visit the Chiefs Monday night at 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)

The Phillies may have crossed off the first item on their offseason wishlist, but it didn’t come without competition. According to Scott Lauber, both the Braves and Dodgers had made offers to Nola that were close to what the Phillies offered. But, as has become customary under Dave Dombrowski, and especially John Middleton, the Phillies once again got their man — and left themselves plenty of flexibility.

So, what’s next? Since we’re still early in free agency, it could be any number of moves, including adding more pitching.

“A source with knowledge of the Phillies’ thinking says that they are still in the market for Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto,” according to Alex Coffey. “Nola was their top priority, but now that he has been signed, the Phillies will look to further bolster their pitching depth. That could mean signing Yamamoto, and signing a depth piece as well, like a multi-inning reliever or sixth/seventh starter.”

If the Phillies don’t sign Yamamoto, Coffey adds, they’re unlikely to add another starter of his caliber, but her source says the team plans to be “pretty aggressive” in pursuing him.

You can keep up with all the Phillies’ moves — including the other moves they made this weekend — in our offseason tracker.

The Sixers have the NBA’s top-scoring duo in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. And the team’s two stars again led the way on Sunday, combining for 57 points as the Sixers improved to 10-3 on the season with a 121-99 win over the Ben Simmons-less Brooklyn Nets.

While both players finished with double-doubles, and Embiid just an assist shy of a triple-double, they weren’t the only ones to shine in the big win. De’Anthony Melton, who struggled shooting to start the season, continued his recent hot streak against the Nets.

Next: The Sixers host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) in their next NBA In-Season Tournament game.

Don’t look now, but the Flyers are on fire. They’ve won five straight games after Sunday’s 5-2 victory over the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets. But regardless of the quality of opponent, a win is a win, and the rebuilding Flyers have been picking up a lot of those lately — in fact, if the season ended today, they’d be in the playoffs.

In addition to another win, Sunday’s game featured the return of former (and, at times, controversial) Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, who was traded this offseason and had some interesting words to say about the organization upon his arrival in Columbus. After introductory boos and amid “mixed emotions,” he finished with one assist in 23 minutes.

Next: The Flyers visit the New York Islanders on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.).

Join EJ Smith and Olivia Reiner as they preview Monday night’s Super Bowl LVII rematch live from Kansas City in our latest edition of Gameday Central, starting at 6:45 p.m.

After 172 games with the Sixers, Ben Simmons finally hit his first career three-pointer on Nov. 20, 2019. Prior to that, Simmons had been 0-for-18 (including 0-for-1 in the playoffs) from three, but he did hit a three-pointer a little more than a month earlier in an exhibition game against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions of China.

The Kenny Gainwell incident revived a conversation in sports that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon: is social media good for professional athletes? Is it worth it? What are the rewards and traps?

Philadelphia Inquirer Eagles beat reporter Jeff McLane posed these questions to the Eagles’ locker room, with over a dozen players sharing personal stories about social media use, and how it’s affected them and their mental health. Listen here.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from David Murphy, Alex Coffey, Scott Lauber, Olivia Reiner, Jackie Spiegel, Gina Mizell, Keith Pompey, EJ Smith, Matt Ryan, Brooke Ackerman, and Colin Beazley.

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