Phillies designate for assignment Noah Song, ending his tenure in the organization

The Phillies finally made their decision on what their plan is with Noah Song, the Rule 5 Draft pick the Phillies got from the Boston Red Sox. With the deadline approaching, the Phillies recalled Song from his rehab assignment which reinstated him from the 60-day injured list, and then designated him for assignment.

This, all but confirms, that the 26-year-old relief pitcher’s brief tenure in the Phillies organization is over. Because he was a Rule 5 Draft pick, the Phillies are required to keep him on the active roster in order to hold on to him. They took their time with him as he worked his way back from injury and after not pitching since 2019 while being on active duty in the Navy. In his rehab assignments, he surrender nine earned runs in just 11 innings with a WHIP of 2.09. 

The Phillies now have the option to trade him by the Tuesday deadline or he goes through the waiver wire, free to be claimed by any team. If he goes unclaimed, the Phillies then have to offer him back to the Boston Red Sox.

Although Song has immense talent and keeping him in the organization would be much preferred, the requirement to carry him on the big league roster was problematic to a team in the middle of a playoff push. Unfortunately, the Phillies cannot hide or bring the young, raw pitcher along slowly while taking a spot in the bullpen. Song has an impressive repertoire of four pitches, four-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. The fastball, his most consistent and best pitch, sits low to mid 90s and his best "out" pitch is his slider. He is still somewhat of a project but will inevitably be claimed by a team with the ability to bring him along in their system. 

These are the types of risks that Dave Dombrowski has made in the past and this was definitely a worthwhile shot at acquiring good talent that could contribute to a championship team.