Phillies' Noah Song Is Shut Down With Back Injury


One of the feel-good stories of the spring just hit a roadblock. Back tightness has forced the Philadelphia Phillies to shut down Rule 5 draft pick Noah Song. 

The Phils say Song will be re-evaluated next week, but it's now unlikely that he'll be ready for Opening Day.  

The 25-year-old was considered one of the best collegiate pitchers in the country back in 2019, and was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2019 draft out of the Naval Academy. But Song then went off to serve his military obligations for three years, after posting a 1.06 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 17 innings in seven starts with Boston’s Class A Lowell affiliate in 2019.

His return to baseball saw him selected by the Phillies in last year’s Rule 5 draft. The Red Sox had left him unprotected because figuring no team would select him with his baseball future up in the air after three years of military service.

As noted by Matt Gelb in The Athletic, Song's back tightness actually buys the Phillies some time. As a Rule 5 pick, he'd have to spend at least 90 days on the Phillies' active roster this season or be offered back to the Red Sox. But injured list time does not count towards that service time. 

He'll be allowed a 30-day minor-league rehab stint which will give the Phillies more time to evaluate him before making a decision on whether to keep him.  They were hoping to get him into a Grapefruit League game soon, but that's now out of the question due to the back injury.

Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports