The Cleveland Guardians traded LHP Justin Bruihl to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations.
The Cleveland Guardians broke their stretch of offseason inactivity on Tuesday by pulling off an incredibly minor trade with the St. Louis Cardinals, but a move nonetheless.
The Guardians sent LHP Just Bruihl to the Cardinals in exchange for cash considerations. This transaction officially ends Bruihl’s brief stay with Cleveland, as the 28-year-old now gets traded for the second time this offseason.
In the end, the reliever’s time with the Guardians lasted about two weeks. Cleveland initially acquired Bruihl from the Toronto Blue Jays on December 17, just one day after he was designated for assignment by the American League East club.
It wasn’t long before the left-hander’s fate was uncertain once again, as the Guardians DFA’d Bruihl again on December 20 as Cleveland prepared to officially sign free agent reliever Shawn Armstrong to an MLB deal on the day.
Now, Bruihl is on the move again as he searches for a home for the 2026 season. Perhaps St. Louis will end up being that team, or the reliever will be traded or claimed by a new organization.
Even though Bruihl had a 5.27 ERA in 15 appearances in 2025, he had a strikeout rate of 27.7 percent. St. Louis must see something they like in the left-hander to go out of their way to give him a spot on the roster.
To add another Guardians layer to this transaction, the Cardinals designated Zak Kent for assignment to add Bruihl to the roster. Kent was claimed off waivers from the Guardians on December 5, after Cleveland DFA’d the reliever.
As spring training rapidly approaches and the Guardians are hitting their third month of the offseason, these certainly aren’t the moves that will help them upgrade their roster for the 2026 season.
While Cleveland has successfully re-built the bullpen, even without Bruihl in the picture, the Guardians still haven’t made a move to upgrade one of the worst lineups in baseball from a year ago.
Maybe Cleveland receiving cash considerations back from the Cardinals is hinting towards another move for the Guardians before pitchers and catchers report, or it’s an unconnected move and a way for the front office to recuperate something for a player they themselves gave up cash to acquire.