Noah Song, a Red Sox prospect, will begin the season on the injured list, according to Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com. The right-hander will have Tommy John surgery. He’ll be joined on the bench to start the season by southpaw Brandon Walter, who, according to Chris Cotillo of MassLive, has a strained rotator cuff in his left arm.
Song and Walter were not anticipated to start the season in the majors, but the dual injury bulletins are a devastating blow to the club’s pitching depth at the top levels of the minors. Song, 26, is likely the more well-known of the two, despite having yet to make his big league debut. The right-hander was one of the more highly regarded pitchers in the 2019 draft, but he slipped to the Red Sox in the fourth round owing to his service obligations as a Naval Academy cadet. He made only seven starts for the Red Sox before missing the next three seasons to complete military obligations, but he was transferred to the naval reserve ahead to the 2023 season, allowing him to return to professional baseball.
The Phillies selected Song in the Rule 5 draft that offseason, and he remained with the club for the first few months of the 2023 season, though he had no appearances in the majors after starting the season on the injured list with a low back strain. Song returned to a minor league mound in late June and struggled with Philadelphia, earning a 7.36 ERA in 11 innings across three levels before being designated for assignment in late July.
Song was quickly returned to the Red Sox, and he ended the season well with a 4.15 ERA in 21 2/3 innings at High-A down the line. Song appeared to start the season at Double-A for Boston, which may have put him back on the major league radar at some point this year. That won’t happen now, as he’s expected to miss the entire 2024 season and possibly some of 2025 while he recovers from surgery.
Walter, 27, was the Red Sox’s 26th-round pick in the 2019 draft and made his major level debut last season. The southpaw struggled in nine outings in Boston, recording a 6.26 ERA in 23 innings of work. His peripheral metrics showed that his performance was better than the results indicated, with a 4.60 FIP that was closer to league average. Walter’s Triple-A stats were similarly dismal, with 94 innings of 4.60 ERA ball and 21.3% strikeout rate.
Despite his unimpressive performance, the lefty was expected to offer the Red Sox with upper-level pitching depth in the rotation and bullpen behind fellow lefties Joely Rodriguez and Brennan Bernardino, but he will now be out of action for the foreseeable future. However, the team still has depth options on the 40-man roster, such as Cooper Criswell and Zack Kelly, who may be called upon to complement the big league club as needed.