Phillies send Noah Song back to Red Sox after clearing waivers

After an eight-month detour with the Phillies, Noah Song wound up back where he began: as a minor leaguer in the Red Sox organization.

Song cleared waivers Friday and was offered back to the Red Sox in accordance with the stipulations of being selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft in December. Boston paid a $50,000 fee to the Phillies for taking back the 26-year-old right-hander.

“Everyone is excited,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters in Boston. “The Phillies took a chance on him. They’re in a spot right now that they need roster spots, and they decided to go this route and now he’s going to be here.”

And so, Song’s saga with the Phillies came to an end.

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The Phillies acquired Song while he was still out of baseball and serving in the Navy. The former top prospect received a transfer to reserve duty in late February and reported to spring training in Clearwater, Fla., where he resumed his baseball career after not pitching since 2019 in A-ball.

Song began the season on the injured list with what the Phillies characterized as a strained lower back. He began a 30-day minor league assignment on June 28, and posted a 7.36 ERA with 12 hits and 11 walks in 11 innings over eight appearances. Song’s fastball velocity, previously in the upper 90s, ranged from 92-94 mph, unsurprising considering his three-year layoff from the sport.

Because of his Rule 5 status, Song couldn’t be optioned to the minors at the end of the assignment. The Phillies, briefly optimistic that they might be able to stash him in the bullpen as a long reliever, designated him for assignment last Saturday.

If a team claimed Song on waivers, his Rule 5 limitations would’ve applied. Once he cleared waivers, the Red Sox were able to reacquire him. Because they are his original team, he will be able to progress through the minor leagues.

Boston didn’t want to lose him in the first place, especially after he had a 1.06 ERA in seven appearances at short-season Lowell in his pro debut in 2019.

“It’s more repetitions than anything else,” Cora told reporters. “He’s very talented, very disciplined. Wherever he goes [in the minors], he gets into his routine, gets back to playing baseball. Not having the pressure of the whole ‘he needs to be up [in the majors]’ and all that.”