The Cardinals are in perfect position to take a chance on Triston McKenzie

We are starting to hit the time of year where Major League teams begin to pull the plug on players. Players are designated for an assignment all the time, but it really feels like the end of April through the month of June is a hot spot for finding big names who are up for grabs on the waiver wire.

Let me be clear at the top: I'm not confident that Triston McKenzie is going to bounce back this year, and I really don't put great odds on the Cardinals being that team to unlock him. With that being said, there is virtually no risk in adding him via waivers, and so I would implore the Cardinals to place a claim and see what happens.

The Cardinals should not hesitate to take a flier on Triston McKenzie.

The Guardians announced on Monday that they were designating McKenzie for an assignment after he posted an 11.12 ERA in his 5.2 innings of work for Cleveland this year. It's been a long few years for McKenzie, as after he had a dynamic beginning to his career, the now 27-year-old missed most of 2023 with a UCL injury, and his 2024 season was a far cry from the success he found before.

Back in 2019, Triston McKenzie was the Cleveland Guardians' top prospect and ranked the 41st best in all of baseball according to MLB.com. He looked really dynamic in a small sample size during the 2020 season and, after a fine 25-game campaign in 2021, broke out in a huge way during the 2022 season.

In 31 games (30 starts), McKenzie posted a 2.96 ERA, among the best pitchers in baseball at producing swings and misses and limiting walks. That is going to go a long way in today's game.

In 2024 though, McKenzie lost his command in a big way, walking almost six batters per nine innings and seeing his fastball velocity dip by over one mile per hour. He's never been a guy who throws hard, but the drop in velocity and complete loss of feel for command destroyed his game. The Guardians used him exclusively as a reliever in his four outings this year, but clearly believed it was time for a change of scenery.

The Cardinals' bullpen woes are well documented this year, and while adding someone as volatile as McKenzie to that mix may sound insane, the Cardinals are in the right situation organizationally to take chances on struggling players like McKenzie.

First of all, claiming McKenzie, if he is not traded, would cost the Cardinals under $2 million, a drop in the bucket for what the potential payoff could be. Second, if McKenzie struggles, the Cardinals can easily DFA him as well. If he's claimed, no skin off their back. If he's not, they can let him go down to Memphis and work out as a starter again.

Rob Cerfolio, the Cardinals' new Assistant General Manager, focused on player development and performance, oversaw player development for the Guardians through last season, and was with McKenzie throughout his development process with the Guardians. He is one of the people in baseball most familiar with McKenzie, and while the Guardians cannot afford to wait things out with McKenzie right now, Cerfolio and the Cardinals can.

This is a transition year for the Cardinals. The wins and losses matter less than setting up this team for long-term success. The Cardinals could use as many shots at starting pitching talent as they can get, and this is a free opportunity to do so with McKenzie. Get him in the building, see if you can get McKenzie to work as a reliever for now, and work on getting him back to being a starter again in 2026 and beyond. If he fails, the investment was minimal at best. If things go well, that's a huge win for the Cardinals.

While developing pitching talent has certainly been a struggle in the 2020s for the Cardinals, they do have two recent success stories in Andre Pallante and the early results of 2025 from Matthew Liberatore. Maybe McKenzie can be the next in that line of struggling young starters whom the Cardinals help figure things out?

How likely is it that things work out? I'd say low. But when the risk is also this low, I say, why not?