Cardinals add righty reliever Kent, eye Rule 5 Draft 

ST. LOUIS – With their new front office eager to create competition on the starting staff and in the bullpen, the Cardinals claimed right-handed reliever Zak Kent off waivers and added him to their 40-player roster on Friday.

Kent, 27, made his MLB debut with the Guardians in 2025 after spending six seasons in the Minor Leagues. The 6-foot-3 Kent pitched in 12 MLB games – all in relief – after being used mostly as a starter (63 starts) in the Minor Leagues.

The addition of Kent brings the Cardinals' 40-player roster to 39, which allows the squad to fully participate in Wednesday’s Rule 5 Draft at the MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando. The Cardinals claimed relievers Wilking Rodriguez and Ryan Fernandez in Rule 5 Drafts in 2022 and 2023, but they did not select a player in the MLB portion of the 2024 process. The club has had tremendous success with veteran free-agent relievers over the past two seasons, getting key contributions from Andrew Kittredge in 2024 and Phil Maton in 2025.

Kent’s acquisition could be insurance for a Cardinals club that has already traded veteran right-hander Sonny Gray and has been fielding numerous offers for JoJo Romero. The lefty reliever, who saved eight games in nine chances and posted a 2.07 ERA over 65 appearances, is eligible for Round 3 of salary arbitration this winter. Romero, 29, will be a free agent after the 2026 season.

Kent, a Virginia Military Institute product, is expected to compete in Spring Training with Richard Fitts, Gordon Graceffo, Andre Granillo, Nick Raquet and Chris Roycroft, for a spot in the Cardinals' bullpen in 2026.

The addition of Kent likely came at the behest of Cardinals assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio and director of player development Larry Day, both of whom were hired by new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom. Cerfolio worked for the Guardians for nearly 10 years and served as that organization’s Director of Player Development from 2022-24. Day worked for Cleveland for nine years and was that club’s assistant field coordinator from 2023-24.

With the Guardians in 2026, Kent was recalled seven times, but he is still eligible for a fourth option year. He was 1-0 with a 4.58 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work with the Guardians and he pitched a career-high three innings in his MLB debut on April 23 against the Yankees. His only MLB win came on Sept. 28 against the Rangers, the franchise that selected him in the ninth round of the 2019 MLB Draft before trading him to Cleveland on March 28, 2024.

Kent, who is known for his high spin rates on his breaking balls, leaned heavily on his slider in 2025 – a pitch he threw 39 percent of the time and used to hold the opposition to a .138 batting average with eight strikeouts, per Baseball Savant. His average fastball velocity comes in at 92.8 mph, which would rank in MLB’s 26th percentile. However, he has allowed just one home run among the 76 MLB hitters he has faced.