Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber get a message from Phillies bosses: Earn your money

No big names. No big money. No big deals.

This is a very big deal.

“Dealin’” Dave Dombrowski and his boss, John Middleton, this week sent a clear message to their team of underachievers:

Earn your money.

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He has a wealth of prospects in the minor leagues, but Dombrowski refused to sell the farm he’s built in his three years as Phillies president. Principal owner Middleton, already over the MLB luxury tax, refused to go further under water in an attempt to buy a second straight pennant. Dombrowski and Middleton clearly believe they’ve done enough. Top pitching prospects Mick Abel and Griff McGarry were untouchable. Why should they be moved?

This season is being squandered by accomplished veterans who aren’t accomplishing enough. If it is to be saved, it won’t be saved by the front office pillaging the minors. It will be saved in the majors by getting their money’s worth out of the clubhouse.

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Dombrowski’s deadline deals Tuesday netted pitching depth and platoon power. Michael Lorenzen is a sixth starter or a seventh-inning reliever. Rodolfo Castro is a twice-a-week backup who will pinch hit eight times a month. Dombrowski literally traded for the 25th and 26th guys on the team. Nonessentials. Extras. Insurance.

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Dombrowski didn’t get Justin Verlander or Max Scherzer or Josh Bell. He’s got his stars. They just need to shine.

Dombrowski and Middleton went all-in before the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Nick Castellanos cost them $479 million, joining $330 million right fielder Bryce Harper and $115 million catcher J.T. Realmuto. That’s a $924 million investment. That investment is not yielding the necessary return.

Entering Wednesday’s game at Miami, only Schwarber’s 27 homers led the team in a crucial offensive category. Bryson Stott led in batting average, Alec Bohm led in RBIs, and Brandon Marsh led in on-base percentage. They’re making a combined $2.2 million this year, which is less than each of those five featured sluggers makes in a month.

Dombrowski minced no words minutes after the deadline passed Tuesday evening.

“A lot has to be done,” Dombrowski said. “I think our guys know that, too. We have some good offensive names, and we like their ability. I guess now we have to go out and do it. We have confidence in them that they’re going to do it.”

Later Tuesday night against the Marlins, Harper hit a game-tying double. Castellanos hit a two-run homer that won the game. That happened in the ninth inning. To that point the Phillies had scored zero runs.

As it stands, they’d scored just 3.61 runs in their last 13 games entering Wednesday, which is the main reason they were just 6-7.

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This season they rank 17th in MLB in runs. Last season they were seventh. They rank 21st in home runs despite playing in a hitter-friendly park; last year, they were fifth. Their OPS is 15th, seven spots below last season. Why? Because, after ranking 18th in strikeouts last season, they now rank seventh.

It’s the big bats that aren’t connecting.

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Turner’s been dropped in the lineup, having hit .198 with 30 strikeouts in 24 games since July 2, before Wednesday. It got worse: He went 0-for-5 and misplayed two balls in a gutting, come-from-ahead loss to the Marlins, then took the blame postgame. Realmuto fell in the lineup, too, after hitting .206 with 36 Ks in 30 games since June 18. Schwarber should be dropped as well; he was at .169 with 50 whiffs in 34 games since June 22 Before Wednesday. Castellanos has been living on time he borrowed in the first half of the season; since Independence Day he’s been imprisoned in a devastating slump: a .128 average with 35 strikeouts in 23 games.

Harper was hitting .292 with just five home runs, but his absence of power is to be expected considering he’s coming off elbow surgery. Castellanos rode a strong three months to the All-Star Game; maybe he gets a pass, too. But there is little excuse for the shortcomings of the rest of the millionaires’ club.

Certainly, the president and the owner aren’t accepting any excuses ... or throwing them any lifelines.