The St. Louis Cardinals struck a minor trade on Tuesday, acquiring left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl from the Cleveland Guardians for cash considerations.

In a corresponding move, they designated pitcher Zak Kent for assignment.

About Bruihl

It's been a busy offseason for the 28-year-old southpaw. He was dealt by the Toronto Blue Jays to Cleveland before being traded again today. A five-year veteran of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Blue Jays, he's gone 2-2 with a 4.72 ERA in 94 career games.

He was most effective early in his career, pitching to a 2.89 ERA in 21 games in 2021 and a 3.80 ERA in 24 games in 2022. Since then, he's seen regression, and limited opportunities. He's appeared in just 22 games over the last two seasons, including 15 with Toronto in 2025.

He's actually made a handful of playoff appearances as well: with the 2021 Dodgers and the 2025 Jays (one appearance). 

About Kent

A 27-year-old Virginia native, Kent was claimed off waivers from Cleveland earlier this offseason, ironically.

He made his major league debut with Cleveland in April of 2025, 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 last season, going 2-3 at Triple-A Columbus with a 2.84 ERA. He struck out 50 hitters in 38.0 innings.

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Deeper meaning?

The Cardinals have already moved on from veterans Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras this offseason, and they will continue their offseason by (likely) moving on from Nolan Arenado and (possibly) Brendan Donovan.

In addition to those moves, St. Louis is likely to deal JoJo Romero, a lefty reliever on an expiring contract. Perhaps the acquisition of Bruihl is a pre-cursor to that move, giving the Cardinals another intriguing left-handed option for Oli Marmol's bullpen.

Overall Cardinals outlook

Though a rebuild is never fun, there are reasons for optimism for a frustrated fanbase.

The group has a Gold Glove shortstop in Masyn Winn and top prospects like Liam Doyle and JJ Wetherholt coming up the ranks. Furthermore, new President of Baseball Ops Chaim Bloom has handled a rebuild before, though the Boston Red Sox fired him before it came to ultimate fruition. He clearly knows what he's doing, especially in the draft, and fans should be excited about that.

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