Cardinals Claim Chase Hampton

The Cardinals announced Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Chase Hampton off waivers from the Nationals. Their 40-man roster now has 39 players. Washington designated Hampton for assignment Saturday, just two weeks after claiming him off waivers from the Yankees.

Hampton just turned 25 last month. The 2022 sixth-rounder out of Texas Tech was Baseball America’s No. 72 overall prospect in the 2023-24 offseason, but he’s battled numerous injuries in the years since, including a Tommy John procedure in Feb. 2025 that wiped out his entire ’25 campaign and limited him to just 55 innings this season. The 2026 season wasn’t a pretty one for the 6’2″, 225-pound righty. Hampton was rocked for an 8.18 ERA across three levels, including a 9.59 mark (38 runs in 35 2/3 innings) at the Double-A level.

Prior to his Tommy John surgery, Hampton had missed the majority of the 2024 campaign due to a flexor strain. His last full, healthy season came back in 2023. It was a strong one which saw a then-21-year-old Hampton pitch 106 2/3 innings with a 3.63 ERA against older and more advanced competition in High-A and Double-A. Beyond his solid earned run average, Hampton punched out a whopping 33.1% of his opponents against a quality 8.4% walk rate.

The Yankees designated Hampton for assignment earlier this month to open a 40-man roster spot when Aaron Judge was returning from the injured list. The Nats claimed him but booted him from their own roster this past weekend when reinstating southpaw Connelly Early from the 60-day injured list.

It’s fairly common for players who are claimed this time of year to be passed around the league as the offseason progresses. Hampton, after all, only recently turned 25 and isn’t all that far removed from being a top-100 prospect. He clearly hasn’t pitched well this season but still has two minor league option years remaining. A rebuilding/retooling club like the ones in D.C. and St. Louis makes for a sensible landing spot. Whether Hampton sticks on the Cardinals’ roster remains to be seen, but he’s already been claimed twice and has barely made it through one-third of the league on waivers. The Nats and Cards both finished 77-85, tied for 10th-worst in the game, and offseason waiver priority is determined based on the reverse order of the preceding season’s standings.