Phillies bashed for not signing Bo Bichette due to Aidan Miller reason

Phillies bashed for not signing Bo Bichette due to Aidan Miller reason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

It's been an unfortunate past few months for Philadelphia Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller. Miller, who is expected to be a major part of the Phillies' future, is dealing with a back problem.

Miller has yet to play in the minor leagues and missed all game action of spring training. He also missed the Arizona Fall League this past fall.

And according to some, this is something the Phillies could have avoided if they had signed Bo Bichette. There were rumors that the Phillies were going to sign him, but it ended up never happened.

“Signing Bichette would've meant free-agent-to-be Alec Bohm getting shipped out of town. When that fell through, the plan shifted to Miller making a push for the third base job in 2027. Philadelphia's No. 1 prospect hoped to be on track to get his feet wet later on this year to set up that vision for the future.

However, the soon-to-be 22-year-old's balky back has put all of that in jeopardy. The soreness cropped up last year. Then it caused him to miss the Arizona Fall League action that was scheduled for him. And then it cost him spring training. And now, it's casting more doubt despite some cautiously optimistic updates,” Stephen Parello of FanSided wrote.

Had Bichette signed with the Phillies, it probably would’ve given Miller an outside chance of making the team in 2026 or 2027, before factoring in this back injury.

Now, the back injury only further complicates what could’ve been.

Frankly, the Phillies should have done whatever they could to add Bichette and still hoped that one day Miller would be what he's expected to be. The back injury seems to be a problem, but the kid is young, and that doesn't mean things can't be improved health-wise.