The Phillies’ season has been over since an Oct. 1 loss to Atlanta in Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series, but the club’s next public move remains unsettled. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has yet to hold his customary season-ending session, leaving a longer-than-usual pause around a roster that could look considerably different in 2027.
Dombrowski has not waited this long to speak since joining Philadelphia in December 2020. His previous postseason availability came seven days after the 2025 NL Division Series, six days after the 2024 NLDS, two days after the 2023 NL Championship Series, 11 days after the 2022 World Series and three days after the club missed the 2021 playoffs.
The comparable wait came in 2019, when Philadelphia took 12 days to announce that Gabe Kapler would not return as manager. Owner John Middleton spent that stretch gathering input from veteran players before making the change.
The Phillies also have not said whether Don Mattingly will be back in the manager’s chair for 2027, though his return still appears to be the likeliest direction. While that answer waits, three upper-level prospects have given the organization possible pieces for next season’s roster.
Quick facts
- Aidan Miller is Philadelphia’s No. 2 prospect and the No. 59 prospect in baseball.
- Right-hander Gage Wood ranks first in the Phillies system and No. 30 overall.
- Shortstop Bryan Rincon is the club’s No. 4 prospect and recently entered the overall Top 100 at No. 96.
- Alec Bohm, Luis Arraez and Edmundo Sosa are headed into free agency.
- Wood logged exactly 100 innings across the regular season, postseason and Futures Game.
Miller’s 2026 was supposed to be a fast climb. In February, there was a sense he could reach the majors by early summer if things clicked at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The Phillies even placed his spring locker in Clearwater beside Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto, wanting their young infielder to settle into big league surroundings early.
Then his back flared again. Miller dealt with discogenic pain and facet inflammation in his lumbar spine, an issue that delayed his timetable by at least a year. He underwent radiofrequency ablation on the facet joints in June, and the procedure helped him get back on the field.
Last month, Miller appeared in one game with Single-A Clearwater and three with Double-A Reading. He has since played four games for Surprise in the Arizona Fall League, working at third base while rebuilding his game reps.
“I feel great now,” Miller said. “I wasn’t sure I’d get into games this year, so being here and feeling completely healthy again is really nice.”
The third-base work is more about the Fall League roster and available playing time than a firm declaration of Philadelphia’s long-range alignment. Miller could handle both third base and shortstop next year, and those options matter with Bohm and Arraez approaching free agency, Sosa also potentially departing and Trea Turner possibly facing an eventual move to the outfield.
“I haven’t had many professional games over there,” Miller said of third base. “It’s about learning another position, getting at-bats and getting that feel back. I have a good maintenance routine and a good staff around me, so I feel really good.”
Missing a full season of development is no small thing, but Miller has looked more like himself in Arizona. If his back stays quiet, he could again make a late-spring or early-summer push. Dombrowski has shown a willingness to move young players quickly when their performance calls for it.
Wood gives the Phillies another possible answer if their rotation depth gets thin. The right-hander went 1-5 with a 4.36 ERA in 25 starts between Clearwater and Reading, covering 95 regular-season innings. He added four postseason innings and one more during July’s All-Star Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park.
At Double-A, Wood struck out 99 hitters and walked 18 in 68 2/3 innings. The Phillies lacked enough starting-pitching options this year, and Wood’s ceiling could make him relevant if he keeps filling the strike zone at Triple-A. Even if the rotation route takes longer, he could become a bullpen option late next season.
Rincon’s breakout at Reading may have been the loudest of the three. Once viewed largely as a defense-first shortstop, he hit .267 with 26 home runs, 67 RBIs and an organization-best .927 OPS over 534 plate appearances.
Rincon credited spring guidance from hitting coach Kevin Long for helping his confidence and production, though the Phillies have long been encouraged by his approach. His glove gives him additional paths, too: he can cover the infield rather than being limited to shortstop.
Neither Miller nor Rincon appears likely to break camp simply to sit on the bench. Their clearest opening would come through injury, a surprise vacancy or a reshaped infield. But with major-league questions waiting to be answered and several established players nearing the market, both have put themselves in position to matter.
