Phillies' Top Prospect Slammed With Rough Update

The Philadelphia Phillies went into 2026 hoping that top shortstop prospect Aidan Miller would compete with Alec Bohm for the starting third base job.

Miller obviously wasn't usurping $300 million man Trea Turner at short, so the goal was to have him boot Bohm — who was a clear trade candidate at the time — from the hot corner.

Unfortunately, Miller never got the chance to do that due to a back injury that flared up in February and has persisted ever since. In fact, Miller has not even swung a bat this season.

That obviously creates significant problems for the Phillies for next year, as there doesn't seem to be much hope that Miller will be ready to swipe a starting job in the spring after having no played at all in 2026.

So, what exactly is the plan for Miller? Matt Gelb of The Athletic provided an update in a recent mailbag, and it isn't pretty.

"I do not think the Phillies will enter this offseason banking on Miller being a part of their 2027 plans," Gelb wrote. "Maybe the yearlong pause in his career will benefit him in the long run, and he emerges in 2027. But they cannot plan around that when constructing the roster. It’s a brutal situation for everyone involved."

Gelb also noted that Miller was unable to play in the Arizona Fall League in October 2025 due to lingering back soreness.

This has been an ongoing issue for the 22-year-old, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. At least not enough for him to actually play.

Miller is Philadelphia's top-ranked prospect in what is a rather thin farm system to begin with, making this development even more of a blow to the Phillies.

Bohm is slated to hit free agency this winter, and the chances of Philadelphia re-signing him are slim to none. Let's be honest: Phillies fans would revolt if they did.

Of course, Philadelphia could always re-sign Luis Arraez, shift Bryson Stott over to third base permanently and then move Bryce Harper back to first base. But whether or not the Phils will have the financial wherewithal to retain Arraez remains to be seen.

Remember: the Phillies were rather hesitant to spend money last winter.

Miller is unquestionably a big X-factor, but whether or not he will actually be healthy enough — or ready enough — to compete for a big-league job next spring remains to be seen. As of right now, it seems hard to imagine him doing so.