Hit or stick? | Sports Daily Newsletter

Another offseason, another marquee signing for the Phillies.

Right?

Maybe not this year. And that’s OK.

There are plenty of big contracts on the books like that of Bryce Harper and Trea Turner (who, fun fact, signed a year ago yesterday) and a future to plan for. It’s entirely possible the offseason of rumors swirling around Juan Soto, Mike Trout, and Japanese sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto passes the Phils and John Middleton by.

That’s not to say there won’t be any noteworthy moves. We all know how adept Dave Dombrowski and company are at hitting on those low-cost, high-reward players (looking at you, Jeff Hoffman and José Alvarado). Players like Johan Rojas may not be as splashy, but the brass believes in them.

Middleton likely is going to have to pay rotation stalwarts Zack Wheeler and Ranger Suárez soon if he’d like to keep them. That should be the focus, and the Phillies should stick with what they have, David Murphy writes.

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

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❓ Would you sign any of baseball’s top free agents (and who would that be) or would you stand pat? Why or why not? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Help is on the way in the form of Shaq Leonard, but Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai knows he has adjustments to make, especially if he and the Birds want to beat teams like the 49ers, who converted on 8 of 11 third downs after opening the game with consecutive three-and-outs. They also recorded 213 of their 314 passing yards after the catch.

EJ Smith has more on why the Niners were so good on third down.

Jeff McLane had some time to look over the tape. Did any of his grades following the 42-19 loss change?

Next: The Eagles travel to the Lone Star State for a showdown with the rival Cowboys on Sunday (8:20 p.m. NBC10).

We all knew Tyrese Maxey was pretty good and that he had a bright future in the NBA. But, wow, has he turned it on this season. He’s averaging career highs in multiple statistical categories and his All-Star potential is on display every time he takes the court.

But what accelerated his rise? Was it his hallmark speed or the development of his perimeter game? Gina Mizell takes a look inside the fourth-year guard’s rise to stardom.

Next: The Sixers return to the court tonight in a road contest against the Washington Wizards (7, NBCSP).

Tyson Foerster is on the Flyers to score goals. It’s what he was drafted in the first round in 2020 to do.

Foerster has been doing just that lately, as he has four goals over his past three games, including goals in three straight. But Foerster’s impact this season goes well beyond goals and assists. Lochlahn March on why Foerster’s ceiling may be even higher than once projected.

Two more Flyers prospects were selected to preliminary World Junior camps on Tuesday, as Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey were called in by Canada.

Next: The Flyers are back on the ice Thursday in Arizona against the Coyotes (9 p.m., NBCSP).

It should’ve been a W. Instead, Villanova found itself on the latter end of a 72-71 overtime loss to Kansas State on Tuesday night despite a valiant effort to claw itself back from an eight-point halftime deficit and the knowledge that star guard Justin Moore was forced to sit out the rest of the night following a sprained right knee.

It was going to be a W until K-State senior guard Tylor Perry (not related to Madea in any way) dropped an Earth-shattering three-pointer with just 3.9 seconds to lift the Wildcats from Manhattan, Kansas, for their third straight win in overtime.

Tough to be on the receiving end of that stat line.

Next: Villanova looks to shake it off when they host UCLA at the Wells Fargo Center this Saturday (7 p.m., Fox 29)

We asked you: Who was the only Sixer to wear No. 13 after Wilt Chamberlain’s departure?

Answer: A: Dave Wohl. The point guard out of Penn was a Sixers third-rounder in the 1971 draft and played one season here. Stephen T. was first with the correct answer.

We asked you: How confident are you about the Eagles’ chances against the Cowboys? Among your responses:

I have no doubt that the Birds will bounce back from the debacle against San Francisco and beat Dallas at home. First time they haven’t played in crappy conditions in weeks. — Bill M.

I love the Eagles, but how can anyone have any expectation other than to be prepared to lose big again? The Cowboys have slaughtered every team that has come in there this year.

The 49ers game was such an embarrassment ... especially given that they flew all the way across the country to administer the beating in our house.

Cowboys by 20. — Bob F.

I can’t see the Eagles beating the Cowboys. We won at home because of dropped passes, bad penalties and not by the Eagles defense. Our pass defense this year is a sieve. Other teams’ receivers can make catches against us in the clear while our receivers have a hard time getting free, as seen in the many throwaways Hurts has to do. We waste so many downs. We have a great record due to luck and against the 49ers our luck ran out. Dallas by 14 points. — Vince H.

As an Eagles fan for 75 years and of course a hater of the Cowboys I am sure hoping we can beat them, but right now I am skeptical. The Cowboys have lots of motivation to beat us there just thinking back to how narrowly they lost in Philly. The Eagles are happy to have former All-Pro linebacker Leonard join the team, but not sure one man can make that big a difference. Really like our DeVonta Smith, but always thought we made a mistake not taking Micah Parsons. He would have led our defense for many years as he will be on Sunday night for the Cowboys and for many years into the future. I will be watching and hoping for the best, but the 49ers really beat up on our guys. — Everett S.

Simply put we have to tighten up every area, especially linebacker. Leonard might help if he plays. We can’t let Prescott, Lamb, and Pollard run roughshod over us the way McCaffrey, Samuel, and Purdy did. I am worried about this game. A lot. We’ll see. — Jack H.

After Sunday’s loss to the 49ers, I don’t have much confidence in the Eagles winning in Dallas. We all knew this was going to be a rough patch in the schedule for the Eagles. The Eagles have not won in Dallas since 2017 and currently the Cowboys are on a roll with their offense. Dak Prescott is having an MVP year and the Eagles need to keep pressure on him the entire game. Also, CeeDee Lamb needs to be contained and not dominating the game. Right now the Cowboys are on a high and probably can’t wait to get to the Eagles. The Eagles need to be ready or this game could be over by halftime. — Skip B.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from David Murphy, Alex Coffey, Scott Lauber, Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, Olivia Reiner, Gina Mizell, Lochlahn March, Brooke Ackerman, Kerith Gabriel, Jeff Neiburg, Jonathan Tannenwald, Gabriela Carroll, and Ajay Patel.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

That’s it from me! I’ll be back tomorrow with the best Philly sports stories. — Maria