BOSTON -- Eight months after the Red Sox surprisingly lost onetime top pitching prospect Noah Song in the Rule 5 Draft, they got him back.

Song¡¯s progress in Boston¡¯s farm system was delayed when his application to have his service time in the Navy waived was not granted.

The Phillies, knowing that Song¡¯s service commitment was coming to an end, claimed him in the Rule 5 Draft, even though he had pitched in only seven career Minor League games, all in 2019.

But when the Phillies reinstated Song from the 60-day injured list on July 29, they designated him for assignment. By rule, players who get selected in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft must be on the team¡¯s 26-man roster unless injured.

Once Song went unclaimed on waivers, the Phillies had to offer him back to the Red Sox for $50,000. The Red Sox accepted on Friday.

The club assigned the 26-year-old Song to High-A Greenville.

¡°Everyone is excited,¡± Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Song being returned to his original club. ¡°I mean, obviously, the Rule 5 is the Rule 5, right? And the Phillies took a chance on him. You know, they're in a spot right now that they need roster spots, and they decided to go this route and now he's going to be here.

¡°I think with him it¡¯s more repetitions than anything else. He's very talented, very disciplined and wherever he goes, he¡¯ll get into his routine, get back to playing baseball. Not having the pressure of the whole ¡®he needs to be up in the Majors¡¯ and all that. Now he is in a place that he¡¯s very well-liked, and hopefully it works out.¡±

The Phillies tried to work it out, but it was not to be.

¡°We just felt at this point it would be very difficult for us, trying to get into the postseason, to carry him on the back end as the 13th pitcher on our roster,¡± Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said after designating Song.

The Phillies took a flier on Song because he had a 1.06 ERA in 17 innings with Class A Short-Season Lowell in 2019. Evaluators then believed he could be a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Song had been stationed early this year with the Fleet Replacement Squadron in Jacksonville, Fla., where he trained on a P-8 Poseidon aircraft as a naval flight officer. He had his service transferred from active duty to select reserves in February, allowing him to resume his baseball career.

¡°As every year passed, a Major League experience probably got further and further from reality,¡± Song said in March. ¡°I¡¯m trying to manage expectations. I don¡¯t really necessarily know what my future or ceiling might be. [I'm] just trying to figure out what the new one is.¡±

The Phillies placed Song on the 15-day IL in March with what they called lower back tightness. They later moved him to the 60-day IL. Song posted a 7.36 ERA in eight rehab appearances over three levels in the Phillies¡¯ Minor League system this month. He struck out 16 and walked 11 in 11 innings. His fastball averaged 92.2 mph. It touched 96.1 mph.

He threw in the upper 90s in 2019.

"We are excited to get Noah back into the organization and back on the mound in a Red Sox uniform," said Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham. "Despite only spending a short amount of time on the baseball field for us, he left such a positive impression as a hard-working young man with a passion to achieve success in everything he does. We are looking forward to working with him more intimately to continue to build on his pitching foundation -- on and off the field -- so we can help him continue to grow, develop, and progress within the organization."

Song showed flashes of his potential this month, but he was too unpolished to join a postseason contender. It was unrealistic to think he could be used only in low-leverage, mop-up situations. At some point, he probably would have been needed to get big outs in big games. And every game matters for the Phillies, who are battling to hold on to an NL Wild Card spot.

Song also would have needed to be on the 26-man roster for at least 90 days to remain with the Phillies. Those 90 days would have carried into the beginning of the 2024 season, further complicating matters.

¡°When you think about what he¡¯s accomplished after being out of baseball for an extended period, it¡¯s really quite amazing he¡¯s thrown the ball as well as he has at times,¡± Dombrowski said. ¡°But it¡¯s a long buildup. I wish we had the ability to go ahead and just send him to the Minor Leagues and answer that question ourselves by letting him go out and start on a consistent basis every five days, but you don¡¯t have luxury in our situation.¡±