Red Sox's Chaim Bloom Not Shocked Top Prospect Noah Song Could Play In 2023
The Boston Red Sox let one of their most prized prospects go in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft by not adding highly-touted pitcher Noah Song to the 40-man roster ahead of time.
Many believed that the Philadelphia Phillies -- who selected Song No. 20 overall knew something the Red Sox did not.
The Phillies' front office is led by president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who drafted Song in 2019.
It turns out, both Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom and Dombrowksi were on the same page.
When asked whether he knew Song would be discharged from the Navy -- rendering him available to play this season -- Bloom made it clear that he was well in the know.
"It was not a shock to us, I'll put it that way," Bloom told our very own Steve Perrault and Joey Copponi on the ITM Podcast.
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After hearing Bloom's side of the story, it appears he took a gamble. It was fair to assume that no team would risk adding a player who has not thrown a competitive pitch since 2019 to their Major League roster.
It's even more insane when you factor in that the Phillies were in the World Series last season and still are firmly in the postseason conversation for 2023.
That said, claiming a player of Song's caliber is a rare opportunity. In his lone stint in professional baseball, the right-hander posted a 1.06 ERA with a 19-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .167 batting average against and 0.88 WHIP in 17 innings across seven starts with the since-shut down Lowell Spinners.
Song, whose fastball tops out at 99 mph to lead his four-pitch mix, could still return to Boston, rendering all the negative fanfare a massive overreaction.
It still seems unlikely that the Phillies will actually allow Song to play Major League Baseball after taking three seasons off and never pitching past a short stint in Single-A. If he does not make the team, he will be shipped back to Boston -- outside of the 40-man roster. Dombrowski could trade Song to a rebuilding team but the same rules would apply unless the Red Sox agree to additional compensation.
We now know that Bloom intentionally took a gamble leaving Song off of the 40-man roster, we'll find out soon if it pays off.
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