The St. Louis Cardinals announced that they have picked up right-handed pitcher Zak Kent off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians on Friday. He has been added to the 40-man roster.
The 27-year-old Kent made his major league debut with Cleveland in April of this year, throwing in 12 big-league games with a 4.58 ERA. He struck out 16 hitters in 17.2 innings, showing the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that teams crave.
He pitched in 34 games at the minor league-level this season, going 2-3 at Triple-A Columbus with a 2.84 ERA. He struck out 50 hitters in 38.0 innings.
Opportunity with the Cardinals
This is what life is like under Chaim Bloom right now. As Bloom takes over in the front office, he’s going to be tasked with the difficult decisions of whether or not to trade away franchise stalwarts, most likely for young big leaguers or heralded prospects. The team has already traded away Sonny Gray to the Boston Red Sox and could move Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, Nolan Arenado, Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar and JoJo Romero in the coming months.
However, despite those possible moves, Bloom will do all he can to remain competitive at the big-league level. That’s where someone like Kent comes in. He’s 27, with a full six years of team control. He has an opportunity to pitch in the major league bullpen and grow over the next few years, hopefully remaining solid as the team pushes back into a contention window, sooner rather than later.
This kind of roster churn happens all the time when there is a rebuild. Teams will look for diamonds in the rough and will see if they can help them grow into useful big leaguers – or solid trade assets.
Bloom did this successfully with reliever Garrett Whitlock with the Red Sox, selecting him in the 2021 Rule-5 Draft. He’s turned into one of the best relievers in the American League.
The Rule-5 Draft comes up next week and you can expect the Cardinals to be interested in talent there as well.
About the Cardinals in 2025
St. Louis finished fourth in the National League Central this past season, finishing behind the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. St. Louis missed the playoffs for the third straight year and suffered their second consecutive losing season.
Given the trajectory of this offseason, it’s unlikely to be better in 2026, but if guys like Kent can hit, the team may be able to surprise some people next summer.
