The St. Louis Cardinals made their first notable roster add of the offseason Monday, claiming right-hander Chase Hampton off waivers from the Washington Nationals. The move leaves St. Louis with 39 players on its 40-man roster heading into the winter.
Hampton, who turned 25 last month, is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander out of Texas Tech. The Yankees selected him in the sixth round of the 2022 draft (190th overall) and signed him for an over-slot $497,500 bonus. Two years ago he was a high-end prospect. Baseball America ranked him No. 72 overall entering 2024. MLB Pipeline had him at No. 92. Inside the Yankees system he sat as high as No. 6.
Then a flexor strain limited him to 18 2/3 innings in 2024. Tommy John surgery in February 2025 wiped out his entire 2025 season. He returned in May 2026 and never found the old form. Across three levels in the Yankees system — Single-A Tampa, High-A Hudson Valley, and Double-A Somerset — Hampton went 0-6 with an 8.18 ERA in 17 starts and 55 innings. He allowed 13 home runs, walked 34, and struck out 56. At Double-A the numbers were worse: 0-5, 9.59 ERA, 2.13 WHIP in 35 2/3 innings.
The Yankees designated him for assignment Sept. 7 to open a 40-man spot when Aaron Judge came off the injured list. Washington claimed him five days later and optioned him to Double-A Harrisburg. He never appeared in a game for the Nationals. On Sept. 26, Washington designated him again to activate left-hander Connelly Early. The Cardinals put in the claim two days later.
Hampton’s last fully healthy season remains the reason clubs keep taking the flyer. In 2023, as a 21-year-old, he posted a 3.63 ERA over 106 2/3 innings split between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset. He struck out 145 batters (33.1 percent) against an 8.4 percent walk rate. That mix — mid-90s fastball with carry, a plus slider/sweeper, cutter, and curveball — is what put him on top-100 lists.
Current scouting grades (MLB Pipeline / Baseball Savant) show the post-surgery drop-off: fastball 55, slider 60, cutter 50, curve 50, changeup 40, control 45, overall 40. Velocity that once touched 97 now sits more often in the 92–94 range. Command has lagged. The stuff is still there in flashes. It has not been consistent.
Hampton has never been optioned off a 40-man roster before this year, so he still has minor-league options. That gives the Cardinals time. A rebuilding club can send him to Springfield or Memphis, keep the innings manageable, and see if the 2023 pitcher reappears in 2027 without the pressure of needing him in April.
The most realistic path is a bullpen role if the command never fully returns. The four-pitch mix still plays in shorter bursts. If the fastball and slider come back together, he remains a starter candidate. Either way, the cost is one 40-man spot and almost no risk.
