CLEARWATER, FL — Right-handed starting pitcher Noah Song has transferred his Navy service from active duty to the selective reserves and will report to Phillies spring training camp Thursday, the team announced Wednesday.
Song, 25, was selected by the Phillies from the Red Sox in the Major League 5 draft in December. Because he attended the US Naval Academy – he graduated in 2019 – he was initially required to serve five years in the Navy. Song petitioned the Navy in 2019 for a waiver to defer his active service until after his baseball career, which remains unresolved, and he petitioned for another waiver in 2022.
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Because Song is on Major League Baseball’s military list, he will not be counted on the 40-man roster until Opening Day. If he makes the team out of spring training, Song will be placed on the Phillies’ 26-man roster. If he does not make the team, he will be traded or placed on waivers. A song can be placed on the casualty list, bereavement list, or paternity list, but it cannot be chosen.
Song was selected by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Before attending flight school, he posted a 1.06 ERA with 19 strikeouts over seven starts and 17 innings pitched with the Red Sox affiliate, the Lowell Spinners, in 2019.
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During his four-year collegiate career with the Naval Academy, he posted a 2.37 ERA in 58 games, with 428 strikeouts in 334 innings pitched. He pitched 14 complete games, nine of them stops. He’s athletic and tall (6-foot-4) and throws in the 96-99 MPH range with an overdrive slider. He also throws a fastball, changeup, and curveball.
Song’s selection was not without risks. He hasn’t played professionally since 2019. The Phillies will get a better sense of where they are physically on Thursday and through the next few weeks of camp.
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Phillies manager Rob Thompson said he will likely make a decision on reliever Gregory Soto who plays in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic within the next few days. Soto has not reported the camp yet due to visa issues. “At some point he has to get in a few games before he goes to the WBC or he’s in jeopardy,” Thompson said. In this case, he added, the team is getting some input about its participation in the WBC because it has not been involved in a game.
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The tentative plan is for pitcher Andrew Painter to make his spring training debut during the middle of next week.
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Michael Blasmere will start on the road against the Tigers in Lakeland, Florida, in the teams game Saturday and Nick Nelson will start at home against the Yankees. The Phillies would try to get two outs of Blasmere.
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