‘It's been a long road': Noah Song, Red Sox prospect, is finally beginning his journey as a pro

Boston Globe

19-05-2025

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Reports on Song's progress are intriguing. The 6-foot-4-inch righty — who is being developed as a multi-innings reliever — has touched 97 miles per hour in live batting practice sessions against teammates while showing a wide-ranging arsenal that includes a splitter, curveball, slider/cutter.
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'His stuff is electric,' said fellow Tommy John rehabber Chris Murphy, who was Song's teammate with the Lowell Spinners in the summer of 2019. 'When he's on, it's vintage Noah.'
It's been a long time since the introduction — or last sightings — of 'vintage Noah.'
Song's path has been unusual and challenging. At the Naval Academy, he emerged as arguably the top college pitcher in the country as a senior in 2019, going 11-1 with a 1.44 ERA.
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He was a first-round talent who looked like a potential fast-moving, mid-rotation starter, but he slid to the Sox in the fourth round of the draft that year because of uncertainty about his ability to pursue a career given his military service obligations. He dazzled in the summer of 2019 in Lowell, but without any idea of whether he'd be able to continue his career.
Song sought a waiver from the Navy in order to both pitch and serve his country, but when that process stalled,
But the Phillies selected Red Song from the Sox in the Rule 5 draft — which came with a commitment to keep him on the big league roster all year or else return him to the Sox — in December 2022, and a couple months later, the Navy granted him a waiver to pursue his career.
After years without pitching, however, Song was almost rebuilding from scratch — and not ready to compete in the big leagues. After he'd been kept on the injured list for months leading up to a brief minor league rehab assignment, the Phillies returned Song to the Sox in August. He appeared in seven games for High-A Greenville, but his results and stuff were modest (4.15 ERA, 16 percent strikeout rate, 11 percent walk rate).
In a vacuum, what Song showed might not have been good enough to secure a continued spot in the system. However, the Sox didn't want to ignore what Song had been at the start of his pro career — when he'd featured a four-seam fastball at up to 98 m.p.h. that was the anchor of a four-pitch mix that he commanded — or who he was.
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If there was even a possibility that Song could reclaim some of his prior potential, the Sox trusted he would do everything to realize it.
'He really hasn't had a normal development path … His is certainly unique. [But] as an organization, you want to see things through,' said farm director Brian Abraham. 'You put bets on people, too — not just the player. And I think that's what we wanted to do with Noah. The character, the work ethic, on top of the potential to have upper-levels stuff and hopefully major league stuff at some point, I think led us to a point where we want to take a chance on the kid.'
Song spent most of the offseason of 2023-24 in Fort Myers, Fla., with a clear uptick in stuff by the spring of 2024. For the first time, he was ready to have a professional season with a full, healthy offseason as a foundation.
But a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the spring of 2024 prevented that from happening. Song required Tommy John surgery. He acknowledges questioning whether he'd continue his career based on his age and the gap between his stuff before and after his time as an aviator.
'I'd be lying if I say there wasn't [uncertainty],' said Song. 'But right before [the ligament] did go, started to feel like they were clicking a little bit better mechanically. And I guess that was kind of enough to push me along. I felt like I would be squandering that if I didn't try my best and take advantage of it.'
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Song also didn't want to ignore the opportunity that had been afforded him by the Navy. The waiver of full-time military service before he'd completed five years (he's currently a reservist, with the Navy working with him on a flexible schedule) represented an extraordinary opportunity that he wanted to honor.
In Phillies spring training in 2023, Song was admittedly uncomfortable. He struggled with the question of whether he should be in baseball while friends with whom he'd trained were serving the country. He also felt out of place in big league camp (a product of his Rule 5 status) given that he hadn't earned a spot there through his performance.
But through 2023 and '24, Song learned to accept his opportunity — and was driven to pursue it to the best of his abilities. That commitment helped propel him through the rehab process.
'I was very proud of my time in the Navy. I was very willing to continue serving if they felt that that was what I should be doing,' said Song. 'The fact that [the Navy] said, 'Yes, go and do this. We want you to go and play,' that is what really kind of gave me the peace of mind.
'I try to live an honorable life and honorable career. And I feel like by them doing that, it helped me kind of just go all-in with baseball. I think that's part of the reason that I was willing to come back to this rehab process and go through an injury and everything, because in my mind I still have that little bit that I want to make them proud and show them that they didn't just let me go for nothing.'
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And so, Song attacked Rehab with discipline and determination.
'He's an animal, creature of habit, robot — however you want to call it — in all the best ways,' said Murphy.
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'I'm trying to make him aware, 'I've seen big league arms in person. You're not far off of those guys right now,' ' said Murphy. 'It's so hard to put yourself in his shoes … Getting the game you play taken from you [by military service], and then you come back and you're like, 'I'm doing it again,' and then you get it ripped from you again [by injury], that sucks. I don't know if I would had the mental fortitude to do that.
'But for him, I think he's still chasing that, which is awesome. I want him to chase it. I want him to believe he can pitch in big leagues, because I know he can.'
The Sox, too, see Song tapping into some of the gifts that were evident a half-dozen years ago, while respecting that he has changed as a person and pitcher since 2019.
'I definitely think there's still flashes of the guy where you're like, 'Wow. This is why the guy was selected where he was, and why we spent so much time [with] Noah.' But I also think he's a different version of himself now,' said Abraham. 'To compare him to that version of himself is a little unfair. I like to think of him having an opportunity to be Noah Song 2.0 in a lot of ways — to re-create his story, his career, to see what he can do.'
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Tuesday in Sarasota, Fla., will represent a milestone. For the first time, Song will take the mound in an official game with both a foundation as a pitcher under him and a future that will be defined by his abilities and commitment in front of him. Finally, Song will get to find out who he can become.
'I've been looking forward to it,' said Song. 'Every night when my head hits the pillow, it's what I'm thinking about, and what I'm pretty excited for.'
Alex Speier can be reached at