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But the fact that Ort is on the 40 man puts him closer to the top of the depth chart than many fans like. What I’m hoping is he is the first man off the 40 man roster as replacements arrive…

I would. But I’d prefer they be against the Red Sox…

Probably not. Song’s entire career consists of 17 IP in Rookie Ball back in 2019. What should be indisputable is that is poor preparation for pitching an entire season in MLB in 2023. DD needs Song to get MiLB time. That should also not be in dispute. At some point, he also needs to add him to the 40 man roster, too. (I’m assuming it will be when Harper hits the 60 day IL. Although why he’s waiting on that is also a mystery.)

So you’re saying that because the 2020 season was wiped out, the Earth didn’t go around the sun? You did say his hiatus was 2 years, not seasons…

So are you denying they say it? It’s certainly in print all over. Not too hard to believe the radio people are also saying it…

… and German, Barnes and Wallace…

I tried to explain the “batted ball that hits the runner” rule to a coach on same staff as me once. I will say, he much preferred the very simple rule…

It’s nice to know there’s something you understand. To be fair to me, journalists all over the Internet are saying 4 years. Example: https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/ex-red-sox-prospect-noah-song-joining-phillies-training-camp Halfway down the paragraph starts “Song hasn’t pitched competitively in four years…” So it’s not hard to spot the origins…

I suppose you would know. You’ve been speaking for him the whole conversation…

I didn’t feel like listing a slew of prospects. I’m sure DD’s Untouchables List is longer than that. But not too much longer. It is DD, after all…

I’ll have to learn that to help you understand why it’s a bad idea for Philly to simply stash Song…

I wondered that, too. I figure 1) he was actually not eligible, and the rules for said eligibility are not so accessible for me, or 2) DD didn’t want to wait that long, just in case another GM was also intrigued by Song.

And that elevates his career total to 22 IP. Even in a stashed role in someone’s bullpen, he would have to throw more than that. And burying him on the IL and in the 8th RP slot just further exacerbates his biggest weakness - inactivity…

I do think they will try to keep Noda, because he was buried in the Dodgers system due to a lack of power and only played 1b. But (I believe it was) BA had him as tops in the org for plate discipline. As for Abreu - well, he did get protected Song was a projected first round talent in what turned out to be a really good draft for position players. The pitchers haven’t done as well yet, but Alek Manoah does give credibility. Still Song is 26 and his career high/total is 17 IP. I still think Philly keeps him; they just do it the smart way and send the Sox something. The notion that Oakland or Pitt would ditch higher draft picks for Song after Philly clearly gave up on him seems silly. If Song had enough potential for these teams to grab him, why is Philly not trying to keep him? Again, they can trade FOR his rights and option him. They gave up on a 24yo MLB-ready LHP to get him. They’re not deciding to send him back or trade him elsewhere after 3 or 4 IP. Most likely, Song pitches for the Phillies. But in this case, I mean the ones in Reading…

Alright a 3 year hiatus. And 17 rookie ball IP in a 4 year minor league career. It’s almost nothing to go on in this data-driven age of player evaluation…

You do it all the time…

I’m not 100% sure of the requirements, but I thought Song needed to be with the Sox for 3 years, not in AAA (or is it AA or both?) and not on the 40-man. If so he was eligible for the minor league phase. But I am not sure if I missed a requirement or two…

I would. Both made selections when Song was still available. What’s Song done since then to convince either team they made the wrong choice? All of these are long shots at best, but the entire point is trading Song to even a small market team isn’t going to be easy, because he carries his Rule 5 status and probably isn’t some sort of special talent every team needs to take a chance on. Those teams may dump their Rule 5 players, but it probably will have nothing to do with Somg. Especially Oakland, who chose OBP machine Ryan Noda from the Dodgers. For DD, it’s likely going to be 1) acquire Song’s rights from Boston or 2) return Song to Boston. He’s not dumb enough to “stash” him and he clearly has faith in that he left Erik Miller (whose AA numbers rival Thad Ward but is a year younger) because he very likely does have faith in Song, and not because he doesn’t care about the bottom of the 40 man roster, (which has a lot of questionable pitchers on it already).

Actually they show he did care, as he was constantly trying to upgrade it. If he really was so cavalier about giving Song a trial to see if he was worth it, he could have taken him in the minor league portion of the draft and not had to deal with all the restrictions from the major league phase. I believe Song would have been eligible for that draft…

Snd yet they’re not going to do it. Because trying to carry one player who can’t be optioned is difficult enough, especially if he struggles. Doing it twice probably more than double as tough. There are teams that are non-competitive every year, yet no one ever Carrie’s more than one Rule 5 player, and there are plenty others that don’t carry any. You’d think if it was such an easy freebie way to get talent and teams didn’t care about the bottom of the 40 man roster, a lot more teams would take part in it…

Of course it does. The “bottom of the 40 man roster” still contains MLB-eligible players in it. It’s referred to as “The Reserve List” for a reason. You might as well say DD doesn’t care about depth. I’m sure it’s more important to DD than any of us here can even emphasize. He’s going to make a dozen or so moves over the course of the season trying to use this part of the roster to fill gaps and cover for injuries. Just because you think it isn’t important doesn’t mean any executives feel that way. In fact, it’s a very safe bet none of them do…

Because carrying Rule 5 players isn’t as easy as a lot of people think. Just because the Nats/Pirates/A’s won’t be good or spend money doesn’t mean the goal is to put inferior products on the field. Stashing a Rule 5 player is a bad idea. Player gains a year of service time while losing a year of development. Teams like these need players they can actually use, not experiments with prolonged inactivity. What makes you think Song is better than the internal options these teams already have? The ones who have actually been pitching…

1. He cares about the bottom of his 40 man roster if he’s a good exec. 2. He clearly thought Song (or possibly other pitchers) were better than Miller, which is why he got left off. 3. That doesn’t make Miller useless. And since DD is going to probably use 15-20 relief pitchers this year (like every team) while defending his pennant, the bottom of the 40 man and the upper tier of the minors are important.

I don’t think Pit, Oak or Washington are going to all try to calmly two Rule 5 picks buried on their rosters, bringing both players a year closer to arbitration while minimizing their development. It seems more likely most Sox fans are still enamored with Song’s draft status, which actually means very little at this point. The Sox chose Ryan Zefferjahn before Song and this post might be his first mention on the main board. If DD is still enamored with Song, he’ll complete a trade to keep his rights. If he isn’t, he will return him and hope Erik Miller doesn’t make him look stupid…

He last pitched in 2019. It’s now 2023…