Phillies' Aidan Miller is Already Causing an Offseason Stir

The Philadelphia Phillies have a dilemma at third base heading into 2027. Do they re-sign Alec Bohm? Do they try and find someone on the trade market? Do they consider handing the job to Aidan Miller out of camp?

Remember: last year, the Phillies gave the starting center field job to rookie Justin Crawford, so they have already shown they are not shy about assigning prominent roles to first-year players.

But would they repeat it with Miller?

Miller was supposed to compete for a roster spot last spring, but a back injury kept him out of Spring Training ... and most of the season.

The top prospect did not return until September, and at that point, there were serious concerns about his future with the organization.

But Miller still has an outside shot of wowing Philadelphia enough to make the 26-man roster next March, and he's certainly off to a great start this offseason.

Over 49 plate appearances in the Arizona Fall League, Miller is slashing .300/.571/.467 with 18 walks. Obviously, it's an incredibly small sample size, but his ridiculous 36.7 percent walk rate is clearly noteworthy.

That's especially considering Miller owns a lifetime .384 OBP and 14 percent walk rate in the Phillies' minor-league system, so it's very apparent that his plate discipline is fantastic.

Contrast that with Bohm, who owns a career 6.6 percent walk rate on the big-league level, and Miller's ability to consistently get on base would be a breath of fresh air.

Miller is a natural shortstop, but the general consensus is that Philadelphia will end up at the hot corner because shortstop is blocked by Trea Turner and his $300 million contract.

The Phillies could move Turner to the outfield, but as of right now, it appears that the squad is set on giving the 33-year-old another opportunity at short in 2027.

So until further notice, Miller will continue working at third base, particularly given the vacancy that currently exists there.

Miller's fall league numbers are definitely eye-opening, and while I still think it's rather unlikely he breaks camp with the Phillies next spring, he's unquestionably making a pretty fine impression.

The 22-year-old is a top prospect for a reason, and given how little depth Philadelphia has in the rest of its farm system, it should be treating Miller with kid gloves.

How the Phillies approach third base this winter will tell us everything we need to know about how they view Miller for next season.