Former Guardians' offseason whiplash continues after latest Cardinals waiver claim

While Zak Kent’s 2025 season with the Guardians was pretty unremarkable, his offseason has been incredibly remarkable due to the sheer number of transactions he’s been involved in. 

It started last December when the Cardinals claimed him off waivers. His stint with the Cardinals lasted less than a month, as St. Louis designated him for assignment at the start of January to free up space for former Guardian Justin Bruihl.

He was eventually scooped up by the Rangers, who originally drafted him in 2019. That familiarity, plus Kent’s okay production last season, made it seem like he had found his home for home for 2026. 

That sentiment was true for a little more than a month, as the Rangers designated him for assignment last week to make room for their reunion with starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery.

But he returned to another familiar face on Monday when the Cardinals claimed him on waivers again, which will mark his second stint with the franchise this offseason. 

Former Guardian Zak Kent’s busy offseason continues with latest waiver claim 

So, to be clear, Kent has now been signed and subsequently waived two times this offseason, and is now on his second stint with the Cardinals. 

While that kind of shuffling can be the norm for ‘Quad-A’ relievers like Kent, it’s fairly rare to see a player be claimed on waivers multiple times by the same team in a single offseason. 

Last season Kent recorded a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 big league innings with the Guardians while working as the team’s top depth arm. While those numbers don’t jump off the page, he had a 2.84 ERA in 38 innings at Triple-A with a strikeout rate of 31.4%. 

He had three shorts stints on the Guardians' roster after he made his MLB debut in April, and spent all of September on the team's big league roster after rosters exapnded.

But regardless of how he did during those stints on the Guardians' roster, it’s clear the Cardinals took a liking to him considering this is the second time they’ve gone out of their way to pick him up on waivers. 

Kent also still has one more minor league option remaining, which likely contributed to why the Cardinals and Rangers seemed to value him so much in waivers. 

This time Kent’s roster spot will come at the cost of outfielder Bryan Ramos, who the Cardinals claimed off waivers just 10 days ago. 

Ramos started his career with the White Sox (he slugged his first career homer against the Guardians in 2024), but has only hit .198 in his big league career.