Rangers Designate Zak Kent For Assignment

The Rangers announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Zak Kent for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to left-hander Jordan Montgomery, whose one-year deal to return to Texas is now official.

The 27-year-old Kent was just claimed off waivers last month, but he’s no stranger to the organization. Texas selected him in the ninth round of the 2019 draft, and the right-hander pitched in their system all the way through 2023 before being traded to Cleveland just prior to Opening Day 2024.

Kent made his big league debut with the Guards in 2025, tossing 17 2/3 innings with a 4.58 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate in that small sample. He spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A Columbus, where he logged a tidy 2.84 earned run average with a huge 31.4% strikeout rate … and also a huge 13.2% walk rate. He sat 93.1 mph with his four-seamer, complementing the pitch with an 85.7 mph slider and an 81.3 mph curveball.

Since the 2025 season ended, Kent has bounced from the Guardians, to the Cardinals, to the Rangers via waivers. He’ll now very likely find himself on waivers once again, though the Rangers could also spend the next five days searching for a trade partner as well. Kent has exhausted his three minor league option years, but Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in December that he’s eligible for a fourth option year (which are typically granted for players who miss significant minor league time with injury or exhaust their first three option years within their first five professional seasons).