Cardinals' latest roster shuffle results in Guardian-on-Guardian crime 

On Dec. 17, the Cleveland Guardians claimed left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl off waivers from the Blue Jays as a part of their continued bullpen reshaping. 

In fact, it was such a reshaping that the Guardians turned around and designated him for assignment three days later in the corresponding move to free up space on the roster for Shawn Armstrong. 

That transaction led to Bruihl sitting in DFA limbo for two weeks while the MLB transaction period shut down for the holidays, which is a bit unheard of in a sport that moves as quickly as baseball. 

He finally got some much-needed clarity on Tuesday when he was claimed off waivers by the St. Louis Cardinals… who subsequently designated former Guardian Zak Kent for assignment to clear space on their 40-man roster. 

The Cardinals can’t stop shuffling through former Guardians in their bullpen 

It’s not a surprise that Bruihl was claimed on waivers again given the Guardians claimed him initially after he was DFA’d by the Blue Jays. He posted a 5.27 ERA in 13 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays last year, and has a career 4.72 ERA in 89 2/3 innings at the major league level. He had previously pitched for the Dodgers, Rockies and Pirates before joining the Blue Jays. 

Bruihl doesn’t have extremely overpowering stuff, but he’s a lefty with a funky delivery (30 degree arm angle), which would have made him a bit of a unique pitcher in a Guardians bullpen that’s filled with right-handed pitchers with more conventional deliveries. 

But the Guardians ended up deciding that he wasn’t worth holding onto throughout the offseason and sent him into DFA limbo. Bruihl’s roster spot came at the expense of postseason hero Jhonkensy Noel, who was claimed off waivers by the Orioles yesterday. 

The move also sends Kent back into DFA limbo a little more than a month after the Guardians jettisonned them off the roster. There are several Guardians alums working in St. Louis’ front office (namely assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio and director of player development Larry Day), so it’s not a surprise they claimed Kent so quickly and wasted no time grabbing Bruihl after the Holiday freeze ended. 

Kent posted a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with the Guardians in 2025 while mostly working in mop-up duty, so it made sense the Cardinals (who aren’t planning on competing in 2026) would want to see what he could do with more playing time. 

Now that role will go to Bruihl, who boasts a bit more potential. While neither one of them would have made much of an impact for the Guardians in Cleveland’s new-look bullpen for 2026, the Cardinals shuffling between the two of them should make every Guardians fan chuckle.