TAMPA — Chase Hampton found the silver lining of what could have been a crushing diagnosis: It was a diagnosis with no wiggle room.
There was no mystery this time.
Hampton, who had suffered several partial tears to his right UCL, felt discomfort again following a bullpen session early in camp.
He had fully torn the ligament — a development that generated a bit of a sense of relief.
“I was kind of hoping it was torn, honestly,” Hampton said Tuesday, four days after Tommy John surgery, while wearing a brace in the Yankees clubhouse. “I mean, I was dealing with it for a while. I’ve had three partial tears in it, so I was just hoping that it was time to have [the surgery].
“So before I even found out, I was kind of at peace with it.”
A top prospect who arrived at camp hoping to impress on the mound probably instead impressed with his maturity.
He had looked like a rising star in 2023, when in his first professional season he reached Double-A Somerset and pitched to a combined 3.63 ERA over 20 starts, before barely pitching last year because of a flexor strain and groin strain.
Now he essentially will have a second season-plus wiped away, but he hopes he can put his elbow worries behind him.
“It’s frustrating that I don’t get to play this year, but I’m honestly in a good spot,” said the 23-year-old out of Texas Tech. “I’m kind of comfortable and happy about it because it’s gotten fixed. I have a whole year to rehab it, get stronger, get better and come back swinging next year.”
Without Hampton, the Yankees rotation depth (which already was not strong) took a hit.
Behind Marcus Stroman, who at the moment projects as the No. 6 starter, the Yankees have Will Warren, JT Brubaker, Cam Schlittler, Allan Winans, Sean Boyle and Carlos Carrasco (the veteran in camp on a minor league deal) as insurance arms.
The system as a whole took a hit, too, without arguably its best pitching prospect.
Hampton did not want to put a timetable on his return.
Tommy John surgery typically requires at least a year of recovery, and he said he could be all the way back in “May, could be June, could be July.”
The hope, though, is he will then finally be healthy.
“Just happy we got it fixed,” he said.
