CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Phillies prospect Aidan Miller has a sore lower back, which is why he didn’t play in the team’s two Grapefruit League games this weekend.
“We’re just being super cautious with him, obviously, this early in camp,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said following Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Pirates at BayCare Ballpark.
Thomson said Miller got to the ballpark one morning recently complaining of the back soreness. He said he doesn’t believe Miller did anything on the field to injure himself, although he was hit by a pitch during live batting practice last week.
“It wasn’t in the back,” Thomson said. “So I don’t know if he jarred it or something trying to get out of the way.”
There is no timetable for Miller’s return.
“He’s just getting treatment,” Thomson said.
Miller is the Phillies’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 23 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. He is expected to play both shortstop and third base this spring to prepare him for an eventual promotion to the big leagues. That could come this season, if there is a need, or next season, if free-agent-to-be Alec Bohm does not return at third base.