Red Sox righty to undergo Tommy John surgery, while southpaw is also injured
Red Sox youngster Noah Song will begin the season on the injured list, with Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com reporting that the right-hander is set to undergo Tommy John surgery. He’ll be joined on the shelf to open the season by southpaw Brandon Walter, who per Chris Cotillo of MassLive is nursing a strained rotator cuff in his left arm.
Neither Song nor Walter were expected to open the season in the majors, but the twin injury updates are nonetheless a brutal blow for the club’s pitching depth at the upper levels of the minor leagues. Song, 26, is perhaps the more well known of the pair despite not yet having made his major league debut. The right-hander was one of the more well-regarded hurlers in the 2019 draft but fell to the Red Sox in the fourth round due to his military commitments as a Naval Academy cadet. He made just seven starts in the Red Sox organization before missing the next three seasons while fulfilling his military duties, but he was moved to the naval reserve prior to the 2023 season, allowing him to return to professional baseball.
The Phillies took the opportunity to select Song in the Rule 5 draft that offseason and remained in the organization for the first several months of the 2023 campaign, though he made no appearances at the big league level after beginning the season on the injured list due to a low back strain. Song made his return to a minor league mound in late June and struggled badly with Philadelphia, posting a 7.36 ERA in 11 innings of work across three levels of the minors before the club decided to designate him for assignment in late July.
Song was promptly returned to the Red Sox, and he finished the season strong with a solid 4.15 ERA in 21 2/3 frames at the High-A level down the stretch. Song appeared likely to open the season at the Double-A level for Boston this season, which could’ve potentially put him back on the big league radar at some point this year. That won’t come to pass now, however, as he figures to miss the entire 2024 campaign and perhaps some of the 2025 season as well while rehabbing from surgery.
