Noah Song’s journey back to professional baseball adds layer of intrigue to Phillies camp

It’s crazy how one’s world can change so quickly.

Noah Song was living in Jacksonville, Florida, stationed with the Fleet Replacement Squadron as a Lieutenant Junior Grade Naval Flight Officer training on a Boeing P-8 Poseidon. He occasionally played catch at the Naval Air Station with a buddy knowing that his request to transfer his service from active duty to the reserves could go through with little notice. His first overseas deployment to Japan was scheduled for the end of January.

He was considered one of the top college pitchers in the country in 2019. Song had previously heard about baseball’s Rule 5 Draft, but did not know how it worked. He had to do some research when the Phillies selected him from the Red Sox in December.

“I know they did really well last year,” Song said with a smile at the Phillies training facility in Clearwater, Florida on Thursday.

He leaves behind one community for another. Song was separated from active duty and is now able to resume his professional baseball career. He’ll serve 12 years in the U.S. Navy Reserve, reporting for duty one weekend a month and two weeks a year.

The 25-year-old now shares a clubhouse with some of the biggest stars in baseball and is the longest of long shots to win a spot on the major league roster out of camp.

“I think I want to manage expectations, really,” Song said. “I don’t really necessarily know what my future or ceiling might be. Just trying to figure out what the new one is, I guess.”

Most Rule 5 picks amount to nothing. The odds of drafting a future big leaguer, let alone an All-Star, are slim. Just about every top prospect in baseball either reaches the majors before their first year of Rule 5 eligibility or are protected by their respective clubs before they become eligible for selection. It’s a chance to unearth an unheralded talent.

Shane Victorino is the Phillies’ most successful Rule 5 selection to date and even he cleared waivers and was offered back to his original team, the Dodgers, for $50,000.

“Rarely, when you’re drafting in the Rule 5 draft, do you have a chance to select somebody that’s a top of the rotation type player or star major league player,” Dave Dombrowski said during a Thursday press conference.

So how did the Phillies get the opportunity to draft someone who was once projected for stardom? Song was eligible for selection for the first time last season, but the Red Sox figured nobody would bother taking a player currently serving in the military. The Phillies did their research and decided to take a gamble.

The price tag of a Rule 5 selection is $100,000. The Phillies will also devote resources to getting him back into baseball shape and evaluating whether or not he’s worth keeping around. Rob Thomson said Song could appear in a Grapefruit League game later this spring.

If it doesn’t work out, the Phillies will likely place Song on waivers before Opening Day since he has to be added to the 26-man roster and cannot be optioned to the minors. If he clears, the Red Sox will almost certainly buy him back for $50,000 and outright him to the minor leagues.

Considering he’s thrown off a mound only once since 2019 and says it felt “rough,” Song’s injury risk is really high. And while Dombrowski did say they don’t want to see Song get hurt, one way to keep him past Opening Day without rostering him would be to place him on the injured list. If he spends an entire season on the injured list, Song would only have to spend 90 consecutive days on the major league roster the following year and then he becomes eligible to be optioned to the minor leagues.

Or the Phillies could do more digging and find another loophole in the archaic rulebook that allows them to keep Song. Either way, the Red Sox will keep a close eye on the Phillies in an attempt to get their highly touted prospect back.

If anything, Song’s journey back to professional baseball and the Phillies’ creative decision making behind the scenes adds a layer of intrigue to a spring training that lacks any compelling dilemmas.

“I think, really, the most important thing is just recognizing the fact that I really enjoy both,” Song said. “When I first started this whole thing, I always said that there’s two Plan A’s that I had. And I feel like when I got my wings, I was able to accomplish one of those. Now that I’m here, this is a great organization right now. … I feel really blessed and really lucky that I haven’t had to do anything that I don’t want to yet.”

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