Could Aidan Miller replace injured Trea Turner at shortstop? (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s so obvious that it has to be asked: Why isn’t Phillies prospect Aidan Miller getting called up?
Two starting infielders — shortstop Trea Turner (hamstring) and third baseman Alec Bohm (shoulder) — got sent to the IL on Monday, creating an opening that seems to be screaming for the kid’s arrival.
But no, the Phillies have called up utilityman Otto Kemp and infielder Donovan Walton to replace Turner and Bohm on the active roster. Kemp made his big-league debut earlier this year, slashing just .196/.270/.393 in 145 at-bats before getting sent back down. Walton is a 31-year-old journeyman with a .174 batting average in 190 ABs in the majors.
Even before Bohm’s IL stint had been announced, former Phillies GM and current broadcaster Ruben Amaro posed the idea of promoting Miller after Turner went down.
“Does (Miller) come to the big leagues now that the other guy’s down?” Amaro said on the latest episode of The Phillies Show which dropped Monday. “(Miller) has been spectacular. I know that Larry Bowa believes in him as a shortstop. He’s developed by leaps and bounds, and he’s playing his best baseball right now.”
Miller, the Phils’ top prospect outside of Andrew Painter, got elevated to triple-A Lehigh Valley Sunday, after ripping up double-A pitching for the past couple months. In his last 28 games, he’s slashed .352/.495/.634 with four home runs and eight stolen bases.
As soon as Turner got injured, Phillies fans unleashed a social-media firestorm calling for Miller getting his cup of coffee. But let’s be real, it’s a massive ask of a 21-year-old — with no ABs above double-A — to get called to The Show amid a September pennant race. And to the annoyance of their fans, the Phillies are exercising patience in letting Miller climb each minor-league rung.
Honestly, the real issue for the Phillies isn’t calling up Miller — it’s getting Turner and Bohm back ASAP before the postseason begins, and, on that front, things are sounding hopeful.
An MRI revealed that Turner has a grade-1 hamstring strain, which is good news for the Phillies. “We expect him to be back by playoff time,” Thomson said. “It was better than what we expected.”
Bohm has a cyst in his shoulder that needs to be drained, according to team sources, and he’ll need to be treated with an injection. “(Bohm has) been grinding with this left shoulder for awhile and fighting through it about a week,” Thomson said, adding that he expects Bohm to return to the team in 10 days. Here’s Thomson discussing both injuries:
Super-sub Edmundo Sosa is starting in Turner’s place Monday night against the Mets while Kemp will start for Bohm at third.
Sosa should get most games at short while Turner is out after showing his supreme value last season when he stepped in for Turner, who went down for six weeks with another hamstring injury.
Kemp will likely get the bulk of the innings at third base during Bohm’s absence. He looked shaky in the field during his first MLB stint, making five errors in 21 games at the hot corner.
But now, should any other infielder get hurt in the next couple weeks, Phillies fans may get their wish and see Miller in Philly.