By Brendan Campbell
Special to BostonSportsJournal.com
More than five months have passed since the Red Sox lost pitching prospect Noah Song to the Phillies in December’s Rule 5 Draft. That Song was even selected came as a surprise since the right-hander last pitched professionally in 2019 and had been away from the game while completing Naval flight training.
Still, the Phillies elected to take a chance by scooping up Song despite there being plenty of question marks surrounding his future. Dave Dombrowski, who now serves as Philadelphia’s president of baseball operations, headed Boston’s baseball ops. department when Song was taken by the Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2019 amateur draft out of the Naval Academy.
Song was transferred from active Naval duty to selective reserves in late February, which allowed him to report to the Phillies’ spring training camp in Clearwater, Fla. Before even getting a chance to appear in a Grapefruit League game, though, the righty was shut down from throwing due to tightness in his back. As a result, he opened the 2023 season on Philadelphia’s injured list.
Since then, Song has been transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. He has, however, resumed throwing. He faced live hitters in Clearwater on Thursday and could be progressing toward a rehab assignment in the near future, Dombrowski told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
“He’s continued to work back, he’s feeling better, it’s been positive,” said Dombrowski, who expects Song to pitch competitively this season.
Song, who turns 26 on Sunday, can be sent out on a minor-league rehab assignment for a maximum of 30 days. He would then need to spend at least 90 days on Philadelphia’s active roster to meet Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 requirements. If those requirements could not be met, the Phillies would have to place Song on waivers and subsequently offer him back to the Red Sox for $50,000 if he clears waivers.
In that scenario, the Red Sox would retain Song’s services without needing to commit a 40-man roster spot to him. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound hurler was once regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in Boston’s farm system after posting a 1.06 ERA in seven starts (17 innings) with Single-A Lowell during his pro debut in 2019.
Song, of course, was not the only pitcher the Red Sox lost via the Rule 5 Draft over the winter. Right-handers Thad Ward and Andrew Politi were also plucked by the Nationals and Orioles, respectively. Ward, 26, opened the season in Washington’s bullpen and has forged a 4.58 ERA with 16 strikeouts to 15 walks in 13 appearances (17 2/3 innings). Despite the high walk rate, opposing hitters are batting just .153 against him.
Politi, meanwhile, failed to make Baltimore’s Opening Day roster out of spring training and was instead returned to Boston in late March. The 26-year-old has since produced a 3.20 ERA with 22 strikeouts to seven walks in 18 relief outings (19 2/3 innings) for Triple-A Worcester. He could put himself in position to earn a big-league call-up by the end of the year.
Drohan’s rough start with Worcester
After a scorching start to the season, top pitching prospect Shane Drohan was promoted from Double-A Portland to Worcester on May 18. Since then, however, the 24-year-old left-hander has allowed 10 earned runs on 10 hits, six walks, and seven strikeouts in his first two starts (7 2/3 innings) with the WooSox. That is good for an ERA of 11.74, which pales in comparison to the 1.32 ERA he posted in his first six starts (34 innings) with the Sea Dogs.
Drohan is not the only lefty who has struggled to put it together for Worcester so far this season. Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter, who were both added to the 40-man roster over the winter to receive Rule 5 protection, enter Friday with ERAs of 8.63 and 6.80, respectively.
Coffey’s emergence in Greenville
Isaac Coffey, who the Red Sox selected in the 10th round of last year’s amateur draft out of Oral Roberts, has gotten his first full professional season off to an impressive start. The 22-year-old righty struck out 11 over six scoreless innings for High-A Greenville on Thursday night, marking the third time in his last five outings that he recorded exactly 11 strikeouts.
Through eight starts for the Drive this year, Coffey is 3-2 with a 2.89 ERA and a South Atlantic League-leading 61 strikeouts to just seven walks over 43 2/3 innings. The California native has put up those numbers while holding opposing hitters to a .218 batting average against.
Valdez released
Freddy Valdez, one of five players the Red Sox acquired as part of the three-team trade with the Royals and Mets that sent Andrew Benintendi to Kansas City in February 2021, was released by the club on Thursday.
Along with right-handers Grant Gambrell and Luis De La Rosa, Valdez was one of three players to be named later from that deal who came over from the Mets organization in June 2021. At that time, the then-19-year-old outfielder was regarded by MLB Pipeline as the No. 14 prospect in New York’s farm system on account of having an intriguing power profile from the right side of the plate.
Unfortunately, Valdez never put it all together in his two seasons with the Red Sox and failed to graduate past rookie ball. The Dominican native batted just .229 with no home runs in 2021 and followed that up by batting .192 with one home run in 22 Florida Complex League games last year. He was converted into a pitcher earlier this season, but never made it out of extended spring training before being cut loose.
Valdez, now 21 years old, joins Franchy Cordero, who was non-tendered over the winter, as two pieces from the Benintendi trade who are no longer with the Red Sox. While Gambrell and De La Rosa are ways away from possibly contributing at the big-league level, fellow righty Josh Winckowski – the other player Boston obtained in the deal – has proven to be one of the club’s top relievers (2.15 ERA in 29 1/3 innings) to this point in the season.
Blalock returns from Tommy John surgery
Bradley Blalock, who underwent Tommy John surgery last March, made his return to the mound for Low-A Salem this past Wednesday. In his first competitive start since September 2021, the right-hander allowed one run on one hit and one walk to go along with three strikeouts over four innings. He threw 44 pitches (26 pitches) and was up to 97 mph with his fastball, per MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith.
Blalock, 22, was originally selected by the Red Sox in the 32nd round of the 2019 amateur draft out of Grayson High School. The Georgia native signed with the club for $250,000, thus foregoing his commitment to Kennesaw. In addition to his fastball, Blalock also operates with a mid-80s slider, a high-70s to low-80s curveball, and an upper-80s changeup.
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Who’s Hot: Blaze Jordan comes into play Friday riding a five-game hitting streak for Greenville. Since the start of May, the 20-year-old corner infielder has slashed a stout .321/.360/.494 with eight doubles, two home runs, 16 RBIs, 14 runs scored, one stolen base, six walks, and eight strikeouts over his last 20 games (89 plate appearances).
Who’s Not: After spending most of the 2022 campaign and finding success with the Drive, Matthew Lugo has had a difficult time getting going in Portland this season. Entering Friday, the 22-year-old infielder has batted just .250/.274/.410 with 11 doubles, one triple, one homer, 17 runs driven in, 14 runs scored, four stolen bases, three walks, and 24 strikeouts in 26 games (107 plate appearances) with the Sea Dogs. While he has not been producing at the plate, Lugo has been adding to his versatility by making six starts in left field.