Phillies Top Prospects Aidan Miller and Dante Nori Band Together, Rehab Injuries

A bevy of the Phillies top 30 prospects endured injuries this season, and the club’s Florida Complex League facility in Clearwater, Fla. gave them an opportunity to band together as they recovered. 

2023 first round pick Aidan Miller, the team’s No. 1 ranked prospect at the beginning of the season, went down in spring training with a lower back injury; 2024 first round pick Dante Nori played through the pain of what turned out to be a stress fracture in his hip for the first two months of the season, and players like Keaton Anthony and Carson DeMartini also missed time.

“Not good that there were a bunch of guys down there, but the group was good. So hopes were high, the mood, everything. We weren’t really down in the dumps at all,” Nori said. “We tried not to really talk about the injuries as much. Just keep it behind us and keep working forward to get healthy.”

Nori reiterated the importance of focusing on the future, putting his injury — and the 2026 season — behind him mentally.

“You’re not really thinking too much about the injury. That’s the one thing when we were down there, just try not to think about it,” Nori said. “Like yeah, you’re injured, but at the same time you’ve just got to think of the future like ‘hey, we’re gonna be back playing soon, it’s not the end of the world.’ So just keeping each other’s heads up high.”

Learning to Cope

Miller said he acclimated to his situation as the year went on, praising members of the Phillies’ training staff for how they supported him. 

“These guys are awesome, and I couldn’t be back here without them,” Miller said. “They traveled up here with me, just to keep me on my routine. I can’t say enough good things about all of them.”

Single-A Clearwater manager Aaron Barrett went through three years of rehab during his own big league career, so Miller also turned to the Threshers’ skipper for advice.

“It’s tough. Missing a year of baseball is not easy for anybody. It’s all I’ve really known. Growing up, playing baseball every day, I never had that long of a break,” Miller said. “So early on, I think, it was a big mental battle. And then learning how to deal with it day to day, trying to take a positive away from every single day… Definitely got easier as the process went on, and when I started seeing the results of my back getting better it started to help my mind a little bit too.”

Miller hails from the Tampa Bay area, so he was also able to fall back on his family when needed.

“It was nice. Days where I really needed to go home and kind of reset, be with the family for a little bit, I had that option. It’s only about 40 minutes away, so that was nice having that,” Miller said. “Getting back in my first game, I had about 50, 60 people out there, friends and family all supporting me, so it was really cool to see.”

Time Management

Miller’s rehab duties began and ended early, waking up at 5:30 a.m. and having most of the afternoon to himself. He took up fishing as a hobby to chew up the rest of his time, and said Anthony and DeMartini joined him during their own rehab stints. 

“Whenever somebody came down, it wasn’t nice,” Miller said. “But I had a new fishing buddy to go out with.”

Nori played video games and collected trading cards, finding hobbies that would keep him from pushing himself too hard. Miller described toeing the line between hard work and risking reinjury.

“That’s tough for me. I’m a big worker, so it’s hard for me not to overdo it. With the injury, now, it’s like ‘I’ve gotta be smart and learn when to go extra,’” Miller said. “Like today’s a day off, so I want to get a lot of baseball reps in and kind of push myself out here.”

Nori began his rehab stint on Aug. 15, giving him nearly a month to get his feet under him; the Phillies are managing Miller, who returned to the lineup on Sept. 5, with more caution, but both players expect to play in the Arizona Fall League. Nori said he had to temper his expectations once he made it back on the field, relearning patience and timing as he tried to get back to his old self.

“Those first couple at-bats down in Clearwater and Jersey during that rehab stint, you’re really anxious,” Nori said. “So you start swinging at more stuff that you wouldn’t.”