Yankees suffer brutal farm system blow as Chase Hampton’s season ends before Opening Day
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Follow UsYankees pitching prospect Chase Hampton will be sidelined for the entire 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Friday. Manager Aaron Boone confirmed the news following the team’s spring training opener.
The 23-year-old right-hander had been dealing with elbow discomfort throughout camp, and earlier in the week, Boone hinted at concerns about his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). On Wednesday, the Yankees announced that Hampton had suffered a flexor strain for the second straight spring, and an MRI ultimately confirmed the need for surgery. With the standard recovery timeline for Tommy John surgery being at least 12 months, Hampton won’t return until 2026.
The setback continues an injury-plagued stretch for Hampton, who made just seven starts in 2024 while battling a series of issues, including elbow, shoulder, and groin injuries. He initially suffered a flexor strain late in last year’s spring training, which delayed his season debut until July. Though his campaign was cut short, he ended on a high note, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings in his final start for Double-A Somerset.
Yankees lose a promising pitching prospect for the year
A sixth-round pick in 2022, Hampton quickly established himself as one of the Yankees’ top pitching prospects, boasting a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider. He entered the offseason as the Yankees’ No. 6 overall prospect, trailing only Will Warren among pitchers, and was ranked No. 92 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects list.
Hampton had been hoping to build on that momentum this spring and was optimistic about advancing to live batting practice after a high-intensity bullpen session last Friday. Instead, the discomfort led him back to the MRI machine, and soon after, into surgery.
This marks the second consecutive spring that Hampton has suffered a flexor strain, but this time, the damage was severe enough to require a significant procedure. Last year, after missing the start of the season, he returned in July but was limited to seven outings before a groin strain shut him down.
Had he remained healthy, Hampton would have been one of the Yankees’ top upper-minors depth options in 2025. With rotation injuries inevitable over the course of a season, his absence leaves the Yankees with one fewer arm to call upon.
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