Phillies Rule 5 draft pick Noah Song began a rehab assignment Wednesday night with Single A Clearwater.
Song had been recovering from a lower back injury suffered in early March, shortly after his surprising arrival at Phillies camp.
In his first inning of work for the Threshers, Song went 1-2-3 on 12 pitches with a strikeout.
He had last appeared in a minor-league game in 2019 at Low A in the Red Sox organization. Following that season, Song began his commitment to the Navy, where he served as a naval flight officer until early in 2023 when he had his status changed to selected reserves.
The change in Song's status was unexpected. He had put in the request eight months earlier but wasn't sure if it would take months, years, or not happen at all. Two months before arriving in Clearwater, he was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft by Boston and was selected by Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who was leading the Red Sox front office when they drafted Song in the fourth round in 2019.
It was a low-risk, potentially high-reward move for the Phils. If it doesn't work out, it will cost them $25,000. When a team selects a player in the Rule 5 draft, it pays the original team $50,000 and must keep the player on its active roster for the entirety of the next season or offer him back for half price.
Because of the injury, Song has remained in the Phillies' organization despite not being on the active roster.
Rehab assignments can last a maximum of 30 days for pitchers, meaning Song's clock would end on July 28 and the Phillies would face a decision unless he suffers a setback.
Song went 11-1 with a 1.44 ERA in 14 starts in his final season at Navy, then allowed two runs in 17 innings with 19 strikeouts in his lone minor-league stint in Boston's system in 2019.
