Jun 27, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view a Cleveland Guardians hat and glove on the dugout railing before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Cardinals Officially Add 27-Year-Old Pitcher From Guardians

Originally posted on St. Louis Cardinals on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Dec 5, 2025 6:16 PM ET

The St. Louis Cardinals have a new pitcher with the organization.

It's been an active offseason so far for St. Louis and that trend continued on Friday night, but not how fans likely expected. All of the chatter around St. Louis has been about which players could be traded and other things of that nature. The Cardinals already traded Sonny Gray for Richard Fitts and Brandon Clarke.

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Now, another pitcher is coming to the organization, but by way of a waiver claim. St. Louis added 27-year-old right-handed pitcher Zak Kent by claiming him off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians. The official Cardinals X account shared the news on social media and Kent's official MLB.com page has been updated to reflect the move.

The Cardinals made an addition

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

"We have claimed RHP Zak Kent off of waivers from the Cleveland Guardians," the Cardinals announced.

We have claimed RHP Zak Kent off of waivers from the Cleveland Guardians. pic.twitter.com/D3U5oLTKZs
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) December 5, 2025

So, what are the Cardinals getting with Kent? St. Louis is getting a 27-year-old right-handed reliever who made his big league debut in 2025 with Cleveland. He was a ninth-round pick by the Texas Rangers in 2019 and was traded to Cleveland in 2024.

Kent made 12 appearances out of the Guardians' bullpen and logged a 4.58 ERA and 16-to-8 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 17 2/3 innings pitched in his first taste of big league action. He was really good down in the minors. He made 34 appearances in Triple-A and had a 2.84 ERA and a 50-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 38 innings pitched.

St. Louis is getting a young righty reliever with upside and under team control. At this point in the offseason, this is the perfect type of dice roll for a team at this time in the offseason. St. Louis doesn't have to spend much and realistically could have another big league arm at its disposal. If not, there isn't much of an impact if the Cardinals were to decide to go in a different direction or start him down in Triple-A. A solid move all around.

This article first appeared on St. Louis Cardinals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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