We have acquired LHP Justin Bruihl from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for cash considerations. Welcome to St. Louis, Justin!
Guardians trade former Blue Jay Justin Bruihl to Cardinals
Photo credit: © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Jan 7, 2026, 09:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 7, 2026, 02:11 EST
A former Toronto Blue Jay is on the move… again.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Cleveland Guardians traded Justin Bruihl to the St. Louis Cardinals for cash considerations. The Cardinals designated Zak Kent for assignment in a subsequent move.
If you’re keeping track, this is the second time Bruihl has been traded, as the Blue Jays sent him to the Guardians, also for cash considerations. Bruihl has also been designated for assignment by both the Blue Jays and Guardians.
It’s safe to say that it has been an eventful off-season for the left-handed pitcher. Last off-season, the 28-year-old signed as a minor league free agent with the Blue Jays, getting in 15 games with them in 2025. Overall, Bruihl had a 5.27 ERA and 4.16 FIP in 13.2 innings pitched, but his K% jumped considerably to 27.7% (so too did his BB%).
With the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2025, Bruihl had a 3.43 ERA and 3.38 FIP in 42 innings pitched, with a 27.8 K% and 9.1 BB%. He also pitched in one-third of an inning in the postseason, giving up two earned runs to the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the American League Divisional Series.
Bruihl had experience pitching in the big leagues in prior seasons. He spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021, 2022, and 2023, before appearing in seven games with the Colorado Rockies to end 2023. His 2024 season was spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that span, Bruihl had a K% of 15.9%, so you can see why a few teams have been interested in him this off-season.
He’ll be out of option years in 2026, meaning he’ll have to make the Cardinals or any other team’s roster or risk being DFA’ed once again. We’ll see what the Cardinals plan for him is, as their best left-handed reliever, JoJo Romero, has been the subject of trade rumours this off-season.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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