The St. Louis Cardinals opened their offseason with a low-risk addition Monday, claiming right-handed pitcher Chase Hampton off waivers from the Washington Nationals.
The Cardinals announced the move on social media.
The acquisition fills a 40-man roster spot that had been open after recent roster shuffling, leaving St. Louis at 39 players.
Hampton, 25, has yet to pitch in the majors. The Longview, Texas, native and Texas Tech product was drafted by the New York Yankees in the sixth round in 2022 and once ranked as high as No. 92 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list in 2024.
That pedigree is the reason the Cardinals took a look. A high-spin fastball that has touched the upper 90s, a sharp slider, and a cutter New York helped him develop once made him one of the more interesting mid-round arms in the Yankees system.
The path since then has been rocky. Hampton missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery and spent 2026 bouncing among three levels in New York’s system — Single-A Tampa, High-A Hudson Valley, and Double-A Somerset.
In 17 starts, he went 0-6 with an 8.18 ERA over 55 innings, striking out 56 and walking 34. Command never quite returned after the elbow reconstruction, and he has still never reached Triple-A. For his minor-league career he is 4-10 with a 4.89 ERA in 180 1/3 innings and 217 strikeouts.
His recent itinerary has been just as unsettled. The Yankees designated him for assignment in early September to clear a 40-man spot for Aaron Judge’s return.
Washington claimed him on Sept. 12 and optioned him to Double-A Harrisburg, then designated him again on Sept. 26. The Cardinals were the next club to put in a claim.
For St. Louis, the calculation is straightforward. The club finished eight games under .500 and is hunting inexpensive rotation and bullpen depth. Hampton costs nothing beyond a roster spot and can be invited to spring training.
If the stuff and strikeout rate from his 2023 breakout — a 3.63 ERA and 145 punchouts in 106 2/3 innings — reappear with a full year of health, the Cardinals have a cheap starter or multi-inning reliever.
If not, they can designate him later with little lost.
That is the nature of September waiver claims: former top-100 talent on a second or third organization, still young enough to rebound. Hampton will not fix the Cardinals’ pitching staff by himself.
He does, however, give them another live arm to evaluate as they begin reshaping a roster that needs more than one low-cost flier.
