Nationals claim Chase Hampton off Yankees' waivers, option him to Double-A

The Washington Nationals have claimed right-hander Chase Hampton off the Yankees' waiver wire and optioned him to Double-A, the club announced. To clear a 40-man roster spot for the transaction, Washington shifted right-hander Matt Waldron from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL — a move that, per the announcement, officially ends Waldron's 2026 season.

What happened

The Yankees designated Hampton for assignment earlier this week, per Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors, with the move coming after Aaron Judge was activated from the 60-day injured list last Monday. Hampton, who just turned 25 last month, was the odd man out when New York needed to create space for Judge's return.

Washington's claim brings a former top-100 prospect into the organization. Hampton was regarded as one of baseball's more interesting pitching prospects heading into the 2024 campaign, before injuries — including a Tommy John surgery — kept him off the field for almost all of the following two seasons. He returned from his Tommy John rehab this past May and has since logged 55 innings across three levels of the Yankees' farm system.

The roster mechanics behind the Hampton addition required moving Waldron, who was himself claimed off the Blue Jays' waiver wire just a few weeks ago. Waldron tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings over three appearances for Washington before chest inflammation sent him to the 15-day IL on September 5. With the shift to the 60-day IL, his 2026 season is over.

Why it matters

For a Nationals organization that is openly trying to accumulate as much pitching as possible during a rebuild, Hampton represents a low-cost, low-risk addition with a profile that is easy to understand: former top-100 pedigree, a full slate of minor league options (he has never been added to a 40-man roster), and a recent injury history that explains the current performance without fully defining the ceiling.

Per Polishuk, Hampton's age, options, and prospect pedigree made him an interesting add for the rebuilding Nationals. Because he has never appeared on a 40-man roster, he carries a full complement of option years under general roster mechanics — giving Washington the flexibility to move him between the majors and minors without the clock pressure that accompanies players with limited options remaining.

The Waldron side of the ledger is its own small story. The knuckleballer, who is out of minor league options and twice changed teams via waiver claims after being designated for assignment, finishes 2026 with a 6.54 ERA over 42 2/3 innings split among the Padres, Blue Jays, and Nationals. His brief Washington stint — 5 2/3 scoreless innings — was a bright spot in a bullpen that has had precious few of them this season.

The numbers

Hampton's return from Tommy John has been bumpy. Over 55 innings across three levels of the Yankees' system, he posted an 8.18 ERA, a 21.3% strikeout rate, and a 12.9% walk rate. He also allowed 13 home runs in those 55 frames — a combination of limited command and home-run vulnerability that, per Polishuk, led New York to conclude that keeping him on the 40-man roster was no longer worthwhile.

Those numbers are not encouraging in isolation, but they arrive with context: Hampton spent almost all of the stretch between the 2024 campaign and this past May on the shelf, and his return this season marked his first extended competitive action after that absence. The Nationals are, per the report, treating this as a developmental flier rather than a near-term roster solution.

Where the club stands

Washington enters the weekend at 68-81 (.456), sitting fifth in the NL East, 19.5 games back in the division, and eliminated from the division race. The club ranks 10th in the Wild Card picture, 12.0 games relative to the cut line, and carries a one-game winning streak into Saturday's home game against the Los Angeles Angels, with Andrew Alvarez projected to start opposite Walbert Ureña. The Angels return Sunday, with Jake Irvin lined up against Grayson Rodriguez, before the Philadelphia Phillies come to Nationals Park on Tuesday, September 15.

The Hampton claim lands in the middle of a September that has been defined as much by roster churn as by the standings. A week removed from the Nationals setting an MLB record with their 38th blown save of the season — a mark that dropped them to last place in the NL East — the front office has been actively working the waiver wire and the margins of the 40-man roster. Orlando Ribalta was placed on the 15-day IL retroactive to September 4 with right forearm inflammation, further thinning a bullpen that has been the team's most visible wound all year. Max Kranick was designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A Rochester after clearing waivers. And Drew Millas is scheduled for a second left index finger surgery of 2026, with his season likely over.

Against that backdrop, the Hampton claim is less a statement of intent than a statement of process: the Nationals are collecting pitching arms with developmental upside wherever the waiver wire makes them available, and they are willing to absorb the roster cost of a 60-day IL move to do it.

There have been brighter notes. CJ Abrams hit his 30th home run, making him and James Wood the first Nationals teammates with 30 home runs since Rendon and Soto. And Jackson Kent and Jack Sinclair showed promise in a recent outing against the Dodgers — the kind of internal development the organization is leaning on while the rebuild continues.

What we don't know yet

Per Polishuk, Hampton could potentially be a DFA candidate again depending on Washington's roster needs this offseason. That uncertainty is baked into the transaction: this is a look, not a commitment. Whether the Nationals see enough in Hampton's stuff during the remainder of the season — or in spring training — to keep him on the 40-man roster is an open question the report does not resolve.

Waldron's status beyond 2026 is similarly unresolved. He is out of minor league options, which limits Washington's flexibility with him, and his path back to the organization — or to any roster — will depend on how he recovers from the chest inflammation and what the offseason market looks like for a knuckleballer with his profile.

What to watch

The most immediate question is how Hampton performs at Double-A once he settles into Washington's system. His 55-inning sample this year is the first extended look at a pitcher returning from a long Tommy John absence, and the Nationals will want to see whether the walk rate and home-run rate are products of rust or something more structural.

On the broader roster front, watch how Washington manages its 40-man construction heading into the offseason. With Waldron now on the 60-day IL and Hampton optioned to Double-A, the Nationals have created some flexibility — but the bullpen's September workload, combined with the IL moves that have accumulated over the past week, means the front office will be making decisions about this roster well into the winter.

Hampton is 25, has a full slate of options, and carries the kind of prospect history that makes a claim worth the paperwork. Whether that history translates into anything useful for Washington is, for now, genuinely unknown — which is more or less the definition of a waiver-wire flier, and exactly the kind of bet a rebuilding club is supposed to be making.