Aidan Miller’s trip through the Arizona Fall League has become about more than getting extra at-bats. It’s turned into a test of how to keep his back calm enough for the rest of his game to show up.
After losing a full year of development to persistent back issues in 2026, Miller finally got back on the field late in the season, appearing in three regular-season games for Double-A Reading and a few playoff matchups. But he was still behind the timeline the Phillies expected, and the organization needed a way to make up some of that lost time.
That’s why he was added late to the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League. Miller had only played shortstop in his pro career, but the Saguaros already had that position covered, so he’s been handling third base instead.
The move has come with a hot bat. Through eight games, Miller is hitting .333 with 15 walks and three extra-base hits in 40 plate appearances.
His line sits at .333/.600/.500 with a 1.100 OPS, and he’s piled up 15 walks against nine strikeouts. He also owns a 10.8% chase rate, and he ranks in the 90th percentile or better for BB%, Whiff%, Chase% and Z-Con% in those first eight games.
Miller says the turnaround isn’t tied to the procedure he had this summer. Instead, he credits a different part of his rehab: the techniques he picked up at Tom Brady’s TB12 Performance & Recovery facility in Tampa, FL.
Three to four weeks after the procedure, Miller went to TB12 because he was still feeling pain in his back. There, he was asked to go through his normal swing motion while they massaged him at the same time. TB12 employees then taught Miller’s trainer, Justin Ahrens, the method, and he has been getting those massages several times a week since then.
“It’s all about moving soft tissue around.”
Miller also said the work has changed how he thinks about the injury altogether.
“There was a point where I was wondering, 'Am I going to have to deal with these flare-ups for the rest of my career?” Miller told The Phillies Show podcast. Now, though, “It’s not even really a thought anymore.”
He’s still leaning on a full routine to keep the back under control. That includes yoga, what he calls “flossing” his joints, keeping them “lubed up,” and a jiu-jitsu movement program that one of the Phillies’ strength coaches, Ryan Maedel, helped guide him through. Miller said he does that every day too.
Before he headed to the AFL, the Phillies kept the message simple: “Get to the season healthy, get your at-bats.”
The reps at third base could matter beyond this fall. Alec Bohm is a pending free agent, leaving the hot corner open for now.
And if Miller is in the mix for the Opening Day roster in 2027, he’ll have another familiar voice in his corner. Don Mattingly has spoken to him during spring training and shared exercises and advice from his own experience with back injuries.
If Miller keeps producing like this, he could force some real decisions for Dave Dombrowski this offseason. The Phillies have been chasing a right-handed middle-of-the-order bat for a while now, and Miller may be making a strong case that the answer is already in the system.
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What remains is the last piece of the package, the raw power that has not yet shown up consistently in pro ball. Gasparino did announce himself with a grand slam as his first hit in the Phillies system, a reminder of the damage he can do when everything clicks. If that tool continues to develop while the rest of his game holds steady, he has a path toward the Major Leagues that starts to look a lot more real. [Read more 🡒]