It won’t be a lost season for Aidan Miller, after all.
Miller, the Phillies’ top position player prospect, is scheduled to play five innings at shortstop Saturday for low-A Clearwater, a major league source said Friday night. The 22-year-old hasn’t played this season because of a low back condition.
The Phillies have been vague about Miller’s progress since his spinal procedure in early June. But minor league director Luke Murton signaled an impending return to the field in an appearance Friday on Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast.
“Things are progressing very well,” Murton said. “I don’t want to overpromise and underdeliver, but there may be a surprise in the near future. I’ll say that.”
The Phillies hoped Miller would make his major league debut this season and even placed his spring training locker between Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto. But low back pain that cropped up late last season flared up in February. He didn’t resume swinging a bat until last month.
Miller tentatively is slated to make up for lost at-bats by playing in the Arizona Fall League, another source said Friday, but rosters have not been announced.
With Clearwater having qualified for the Florida State League playoffs, which begin next week, Miller could remain with the team beyond the weekend. There will be additional playing time available in double A or triple A, with those seasons not ending until Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, respectively.
When Miller’s back pain didn’t subside with rest, he saw multiple spine specialists and was diagnosed with discogenic pain and facet inflammation in the lumbar spine, according to the Phillies in June. He underwent a radiofrequency ablation of the facet joints, a procedure described by the Phillies as “minimally invasive.”
It’s unclear whether Miller will have to manage the condition throughout his career.
“As far as the long-term effects, positive, negative, I would let the [medical] experts speak to that,” Murton said. “But I feel pretty confident, [based on] what we’ve been seeing lately, that he’s on the right trajectory to be with us and be a good player for a long time.”
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