St. Louis Cardinals' under-the-radar trade could signal greater moves down the road

On Tuesday afternoon, the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Guardians made a minor transaction that could have more serious ramifications in the near future. The Cardinals acquired left-handed reliever Justin Bruihl from the Guardians in exchange for cash considerations.

In order to make room for Bruihl on the 40-man roster, the Cardinals designted Zak Kent for assignment. Kent, whom the Cardinals acquired off waivers from the Guardians in December, posted a 4.58 ERA in 2025 in limited MLB action.

Bruihl, 28, is entering his sixth professional season. He's played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and most recently the Toronto Blue Jays. The Guardians acquired Bruihl from the Blue Jays in mid-December for cash considerations. Cleveland's corresponding move when they acquired Bruihl was to designate slugging outfielder Jhonkensy Noel for assignment. The Baltimore Orioles recently claimed Noel.

Bruihl is a left-handed reliever who has a career 4.72 ERA across 89.2 innings in the majors. He's struck out 69 batters, and he has a 1.372 career WHIP. Last year with Toronto, Justin made 15 appearances, throwing 13.2 innings with 18 strikeouts and a 5.27 ERA. Bruihl was bitten by the walk bug last year, giving 10 batters free passes. His 4.16 FIP indicates room for growth in terms of run prevention, but he needs to get his walks and hits under control, especially coming out of the bullpen.

The southpaw relies on a three-pitch mix that includes a sinker, sweeper, and cutter that he mixes in on occasion. He is excellent at limiting hard contact (87.2 MPH exit velocity and 30.8% hard-hit rate), but his fastball velocity (90.2 MPH) was in the fifth percentile across baseball last year.

For his career, Justin Bruihl has fared well against left-handed batters. They have a career slash line of .224/.282/.298 for a .580 OPS against him. After a non-tender of left-handed reliever John King in November along with the potential trade of JoJo Romero, lefty reinforcements in the bullpen are a necessity for the Cardinals and manager Oliver Marmol.

Trading for Justin Bruihl could signal a trade of JoJo Romero by the St. Louis Cardinals.

As things currently stand, the only left-handed reliever with MLB experience for the Cardinals is JoJo Romero. Nick Raquet is on the 40-man roster and could see innings, but he's not projected to make the team out of camp next year. With JoJo Romero receiving ample interest in the trade market, Bruihl acquisition could be a sign of another trade to come.

Romero remains one of the last available lefty relievers in either the trade or free agent markets. The Cardinals could net one or two solid prospects for his services in 2026, and Bruihl's acquisition provides backfill should a trade go down before spring training.

While Bruihl's numbers won't blow anyone away, perhaps Chaim Bloom sees hope in his 4.16 FIP last year and the potential in his cutter, a pitch he doesn't use very often but has solid strikeout rates.

For now, this transaction is relatively minor. However, the Cardinals trading for left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl could foreshadow a greater deal involving JoJo Romero down the road.