On Friday afternoon, Texas announced that they have acquired RHP Zak Kent via a waiver claim from the St Louis Cardinals.
The Texas Rangers are reuniting with one of their former long-time prospects.
On Friday afternoon, Texas announced that they have acquired RHP Zak Kent via a waiver claim from the St Louis Cardinals.
Kent, who is entering his age 27 season, was in the Rangers organization from 2019 to 2023 after Texas selected him in the 9th round of the 2019 draft out of the Virginia Military Institute.
Last season, Kent broke into the big leagues for the first time with the Cleveland Guardians, going 1-0 with a 4.58 ERA (9 ER/17.2 IP), 16 strikeouts, and 8 walks in 12 appearances.
On December 5th, Kent was acquired by the Cardinals after being placed on waivers by Cleveland.
Just over a month later, on January 6th, Kent was designated for assignment by the Cardinals, making way for his reunion with Texas.
Kent will compete for a spot in a Rangers bullpen that has seen the likes of Hoby Milner, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong, and Phil Maton all depart.
Last season, the Texas bullpen had the fifth-best ERA in all of baseball, and now it will be on new faces like Alexis Diaz, Tyler Alexander, and potentially Kent to continue that.
Pitchers and catchers will report to Surprise in just over a month with the first Spring Training action set for February 20th.