Phillies prospect Aidan Miller’s back blocks his path; was Daniel Robert’s heart issue a false alarm?

The theme of Phillies Camp 2026 was, The Prospects Have Arrived.

Sure enough, Justin Crawford will start in center field. Andrew Painter will be in the back of the rotation.

Aidan Miller? He’s a different story.

Miller is the 21-year-old shortstop drafted in the first round in 2023 whom the organization has penciled in as the third baseman of the very near future. He was a nonroster invitee to big-league camp this year with no expectation of making the team, since he’d only played in eight triple-A games last season.

But the brass wanted him around to get a taste of third base, especially with first baseman Bryce Harper gone to the World Baseball Classic for two weeks. Everyday third baseman Alec Bohm, a pending free agent, is the backup first baseman.

» READ MORE: Hope for a new Phillies offense lies with Aidan Miller, Otto Kemp, Justin Crawford

That never happened. Miller suffered an undisclosed back injury late last year that cost him the end of the triple-A season and kept him from playing in the Arizona Fall League. The Phillies anticipated that Miller would be better by the middle of February, but setbacks early this year derailed those plans.

Derailed? More like blown up.

Miller hasn’t even swung a bat in a game yet.

“He continues to work out. Not much baseball,” Phillies president Dave Dombrowski said Sunday. “He’s running, jogging, doing those types of things. A very slow progress. Purposely.”

The Phillies won’t hurry him. He’s too precious.

He hit .259 with an .810 OPS in 108 double-A games last year. He took to triple A even better, hitting .333 with a 1.032 OPS in 37 plate appearances. He also stole 59 bases in 74 attempts at both levels combined.

There is no timeline for Miller to return to normal baseball activities, much less to return to playing in actual games.

But again, there’s no rush, because, unlike Crawford and Painter, there’s no place for him on the big-league team.

Daniel Robert nearly died during his last bullpen session of 2025, and only quick work by Phillies medical personnel saved his life. His recovery delayed his preparedness for 2026 spring training. The recovery included the insertion of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Robert didn’t take the mound again until Sunday when about a dozen of his teammates came out to watch the bullpen session. It was a feel-good moment for a popular player who converted from part-time pitcher and full-time outfielder in college to full-time pitcher in the minor leagues.

And then, it wasn’t.

As Robert finished his session and left the mound, he staggered, clutched his chest, and went down on one knee. As he tried to rise, his legs gave out and he collapsed. Medical personnel rushed to his side. He lay on the field for several minutes before EMTs arrived. He eventually walked to an ambulance that took him to a local hospital.

» READ MORE: 20 things to know about the Phillies for the 2026 season

Given Robert’s recent history, most onlookers hoped for the best but assumed the worst.

The hopers won out.

Robert was released from the hospital Sunday evening. By Monday afternoon, it sounded like Robert’s baseball career would resume sooner than later.

“He’s good,” Thomson said. “No activity for a bit, but he’s fine. He feels good.”

Sources close to Robert indicate that the issue was less with Robert’s heart than with the device that monitors it. The ICD’s settings were a bit low, so, at the end of the bullpen session, it sensed that he needed a shock, so it shocked him.

The device has been recalibrated, the source said.

Robert was taken in the 21st round of the 2017 draft by the Rangers, underwent elbow surgery that cost him all of 2018, then spent the next six years polishing his pitching. He debuted in the majors in 2024 with the Rangers, who put him back in the minors in 2025 until they traded him to the Phillies in early May.

He toggled between triple-A Lehigh Valley and the big-league club, with 18 minor-league appearances and 15 major league outings before a forearm strain ended his season. He elected free agency after the season but re-signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies. He will start the year at triple-A Lehigh Valley when, rejoicingly, he’s finally cleared to resume his career.