The Philadelphia Phillies began the year off on an absolutely terrible note. The team began 9-19, Rob Thomson was fired, and things were on the cusp of falling apart.
One of the bigger issues for the franchise, and less so the 2026 MLB roster, was the injury concerns that were mounting with Aidan Miller. He has been dealing with back issues and has been away from baseball activities for some time this year.
However, just as the Phillies have begun to turn things around, so too has Miller. Tim Kelly of On Pattison shared a huge update from Don Mattingly, as the Phillies finally got some good news on Miller, their top prospect.
Phillies get good news on Aidan Miller
"Aidan Miller is beginning 'light baseball activities,' per Don Mattingly. Not a ton of details, but Mattingly said 'we're moving in the right direction.' @OnPattison," Kelly reports.
This report from Kelly on Miller is some huge news for the Phillies. While Miller might not be ready to come back and play just yet, this is the first sign he's trending in the right direction.
The 21-year-old infielder is the Phillies' top prospect, and someone the franchise is going to be especially careful with. They won't rush him back, especially since he likely wouldn't make his MLB debut this season unless he had to.
But the 2023 first-round pick has still been someone the fans and the team have, rightfully, been worried about.
MORE: Don Mattingly and Preston Mattingly make father-son MLB history for Phillies
Back issues are never easy or simple recoveries, and with it being an issue he dealt with to close out the 2025 season, his back injury was one that the Phillies had to express caution with.
They have so far, and Miller's not yet played a game in 2026 as he slowly recovers from this issue. But this update from Mattingly is finally some good news on Miller's recovery.
While this isn't Miller returning to live game action, just hearing that he's beginning to do baseball activities is a great sign he's trending in the right direction.
For a while now, all of the Miller updates have been negative or very uncertain. But now, there is some hope that Miller can return to action and pick up where he left off with a 14-homer, 59 stolen base campaign with an .825 OPS last year.
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