Justin Bruihl has had a busy offseason.
He started it with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was then traded to the Cleveland Guardians. And now in January, he’s been traded again, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the transaction on Tuesday:
The St. Louis Cardinals acquire left-handed pitcher Justin Bruihl from the Cleveland Guardians for cash considerations.
The Guardians got Bruihl from the Blue Jays in mid-December.
About a week later, they designated him for assignment. They needed a 40-man roster spot for the newly signed reliever Shawn Armstrong.
The DFA put Bruihl on waivers, and in the offseason, that’s more of a limbo period.
It appears the Cardinals eventually wanted Bruihl, and they worked out a deal to get him from Cleveland for some cash.
Bruihl wasn’t a guarantee to make the MLB roster in Cleveland, but it was still interesting to see Cleveland immediately expose him to a potential waiver claim so soon after they acquired him.
The Cardinals apparently liked what they saw, too, and they’ll take him aboard now.
Maybe Bruihl will move again in February. But if not, he’ll get to make a bid at getting on the rebuilding Cardinals’ MLB roster for the 2026 season. The way I see it, his journey shows how fluid the offseason market can be for players on the roster bubble.
