Latest update on Daniel Brito should thrill Phillies fans

Phillies prospect Daniel Brito shares video of hitting progress after traumatic health issues in 2021

After suffering a traumatic health scare during a Triple-A game last summer that put him in the hospital for months, Philadelphia Phillies prospect Daniel Brito is working his way back to baseball.

This week, his fiancé shared a clip of him taking hacks in a hitting cage, and Brito re-posted it and tagged some of his friends and teammates, including Bryson Stott and Rafael Marchan.

Pretty incredible for a guy who essentially had to re-learn everything about being a person in the last six months.

Brito was in the midst of a breakout season at the time of his health crisis. Over 71 games between Double-A (63) and Triple-A (8) in 2021, he was hitting .295/.364/.473 with a .837 OPS, 15 doubles, five triples, and eight home runs.

Suddenly, he needed two brain surgeries, was placed in a month-long coma and was partially paralyzed. Between October and December, he went from learning how to climb the stairs to being back in a batting cage, progress so rapid it is nothing short of miraculous.

The Phillies originally re-signed Brito last fall so that he’d continue to have health insurance, but it was unclear if he’d ever be able to play baseball again. Now, it looks like he is preparing for minor-league spring training.

Brito is not on the 40-man roster, so the lockout is not impacting him the way it has the Phillies big-leaguers. Presumably, he will head to minor-league camp and be able to reunite with his teammates, some of whom he probably hasn’t seen since the day he collapsed on the field.

In a long winter almost entirely devoid of good news due to the lockout, Brito’s return has been the rare bright spot.