Navy releases Phillies pitcher Noah Song from active duty commitment to pursue MLB career

Former top pitching prospect Noah Song has been cleared to report to Philadelphia Phillies spring training after the Navy transferred him from active duty to the reserves.

The decision clears the way for Song to resume his baseball career, which had been put on hold while he served his military commitment.

At the Naval Academy, the 6-4 right-hander was a finalist for the 2019 Golden Spikes award, which goes to the top college baseball player in the country. He also starred for Team USA that year in the Premier12 tournament, hitting 98 mph with his fastball and not allowing an earned run in 5⅓ innings of relief.

Because of questions about his availability, Song fell to the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of the 2019 MLB draft.

Although athletes in the military academies are currently allowed to delay their service commitments to play professional sports, that wasn't the case when Song graduated – and his application for a retroactive waiver was denied.

In his only professional season, Song posted a sparkling 1.06 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 17 innings for the Red Sox's Class A Lowell affiliate in 2019. However, his baseball career was put on hold as he began flight officer training the following summer.

The Red Sox left Song unprotected this offseason and the Phillies selected him in the Rule 5 draft. Although he hasn't pitched competitively in three years, he'll have to spend the entire season on the Phillies active roster or he'll go back to the Red Sox.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Navy clears way for pitcher/aviator Noah Song to pursue pro baseball