Philadelphia Phillies got to tune into the first home game of the Grapefruit League schedule on Sunday. Those who stuck around to hear Bryce Harper's in-dugout interview might have been taken aback by a passing remark he made about top prospect Aidan Miller not being healthy.
Miller, the Phillies' No.1 MLB Pipeline prospect and No. 23 overall, has attracted a lot of attention early in training camp, and for good reason. The shortstop is poised to make his MLB debut later this season and we were hoping to see him in the lineup this weekend as spring training games got underway.
It was somewhat surprising Miller wasn't in Saturday's lineup on the road in Dunedin against the Toronto Blue Jays. Fellow top prospect Justin Crawford made his first start and impressed, but it would have been a great opportunity to let Miller get his legs under him.
Phillies 'super cautious' with top prospect Aidan Miller who's dealing with back soreness
Now we know why. After Harper mentioned Miller's health on Sunday, the intrepid beat reporters on the ground in Clearwater got the dirt from Phillies manager Rob Thomson following the 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. MLB.com's Todd Zolecki relayed the news and cleared things up.
"Phillies prospect Aidan Miller has a sore back," Zolecki posted on social media. "Phillies want to be careful with him so he’s taking it easy this week, getting treatment. If he were healthy, he would’ve played yesterday in Dunedin."
Phillies prospect Aidan Miller has a sore back. Phillies want to be careful with him so he’s taking it easy this week, getting treatment.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) February 22, 2026
If he was healthy, he would’ve played yesterday in Dunedin.
Apparently, as Zolecki reports, Miller complained of back soreness one morning recently but Thomson doesn’t think Miller injured himself on the field. Despite being hit by a pitch during live batting practice last week, it wasn't in the back, although Thomson couldn't rule out the possibility that he might have hurt himself getting out of the way.
We're less than two weeks into camp, so there's still plenty of time for Miller to get right and get into game action. The Phillies are obviously not going to rush him back, as Thomson reiterated on Sunday.
"We’re just being super cautious with him, obviously, this early in camp," Thomson said, per Zolecki. "He’s just getting treatment."
Miller, who is still just 21, is expected to play plenty at third base and shortstop during spring training. It's expected that he'll replace Alec Bohm at third in the future, whether that's this season or next season remains to be seen.