TAMPA – Chase Hampton has found a silver lining that could have been an overwhelming diagnosis. It was a diagnosis without a wiggle room.
There was no mystery this time.
Hampton, who shed some partial tears in his right UCL, felt discomfort again after a bullpen session early in camp.
He was torn completely through his ligaments. This is a development that created a little sense of security.
“I honestly wanted it torn apart,” Hampton said Tuesday, four days after Tommy John's surgery while wearing a brace at the Yankees clubhouse. “I mean, I was dealing with it for a while. I had three partial tears on it, so I was hoping it was when it had [the surgery].
“So, before I knew it, I was peaceful.”
Top prospects who arrived at camp in hoping to impress the mound were probably impressed with his maturity.
He looked like a rising star in 2023, but before he arrived at Double A Somerset in his first professional season, he was able to narrowly pitch last year due to flexor tension and gro radial strains. He pitched a total of 3.63 ERA in the start of the game.
Now he essentially wipes out more wipes than the second season, but he hopes he can put his elbow worries behind him.
“It's frustrating not being able to play this year, but I'm in a good place to be honest,” said the 23-year-old at Texas Tech. “I'm kind of comfortable and happy because it's fixed. I'll be rehabilitating it, getting stronger, getting better, and spending the year shaking and coming back next year.”
Without Hampton, the Yankees' rotation depth (already not strong) would have been a hit.
Marcus Stroman, who is currently predicting the No. 6 starter, is Will Warren, J.T. Brubaker, Cam Schlittler, Alan Winans, Sean Boyle and Carlos Carrasco (a camp veteran in minor league deals) He has it as an insurance weapon.
The entire system was also arguably a hit without the best pitching prospects.
Hampton didn't want to schedule him back.
Tommy John's surgery usually requires at least a year of recovery, and he said he could return to “May, June, and July.”
But the hope is that he will eventually become healthy.
“I'm happy we fixed it,” he said.
