{"id":137600,"date":"2026-01-10T16:02:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T16:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=137600"},"modified":"2026-01-10T16:02:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T16:02:27","slug":"cardinals-loses-pitcher-to-rangers-via-waiver-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=137600","title":{"rendered":"Cardinals loses pitcher to Rangers via waiver claim"},"content":{"rendered":"<article id=\"article-3662410\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wp.clutchpoints.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Sep-20-2025-Minneapolis-Minnesota-USA-Cleveland-Guardians-pitcher-Zak-Kent-61-delivers-a-pitcher-against-the-Minnesota-Twins-during-the-ninth-inning-of-game-two-of-a-double-header-at-Target-Field.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"Sep 20, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Zak Kent (61) delivers a pitcher against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning of game two of a double header at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In December, pitcher Zak Kent <\/span>was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> after being waived by the Cleveland Guardians. On Friday, the Cardinals <\/span>let him slip <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> from their fingers as he was taken by the Texas Rangers in a waiver claim, per Rangers PR.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">As a result, the Rangers now have 40 players on their official roster. This past year, Kent pitched in 12 games with a 1-0 record, 16 strikeouts, and a 4.58 ERA. Before then, Kent had pitched six seasons in the minor leagues. Altogether, he accumulated a 13-16 record, 4.38 ERA, and 369 strikeouts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kent, 27, is a native of Henrico, Virginia. He attended Northumberland High School in Healthsville. While there, Kent helped lead them to the 1A State championship in 2014. He finished with a 1.96 ERA and also batted .315. Later on, he attended the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) where he played for three seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_34,w_4413,h_2482\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_cardinals\/01kej76ya4xj1n8grmgk.jpg\" alt=\"Cardinals Officially Lose 27-Year-Old Pitcher To Rangers\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In 2019, the Rangers drafted Kent as the 265th overall pick. His first MLB win came against the Rangers while pitching for the Guardians on Sept. 28.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Cardinals finished the 2025 season at 78-84 and <\/span>didn&#8217;t make the playoffs <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">. Meanwhile, the Rangers finished 81-81 and didn&#8217;t make the playoffs. During the off-season, St. Louis is looking to bolster its pitching staff through trades, free agency, and development. In mid-December, they <\/span>acquired left-handed pitcher Dustin May <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, who previously pitched for the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wric.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/74\/2021\/10\/fc79b615d3b540df8ef21192b4fd47f5.jpg\" alt=\"Oliver Marmol takes over as St. Louis Cardinals manager | WRIC ABC 8News\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">One of their young guns, Matthew Liberatore, <\/span>expressed confidence in wanting to be the starter for Opening Day <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Kent is a three-pitch threat. He throws a slider, curveball, and a cutter\/fastball combination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In December, pitcher Zak Kent was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals after being waived by the Cleveland Guardians. On Friday, the Cardinals let him slip from&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":137603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cardinals loses pitcher to Rangers via waiver claim - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=137600\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cardinals loses pitcher to Rangers via waiver claim - NEWS USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In December, pitcher Zak Kent was acquired by the St. Louis Cardinals after being waived by the Cleveland Guardians. 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