Cardona begins his first season with the Ducks and sixth in professional baseball. The right-hander spent the 2025 season combined with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts and the Triple-A Louisville Bats in the Cincinnati Reds organization, appearing in 26 games (23 starts), tallying a 4.76 ERA in 112.2 innings of work. In his five seasons with the Reds organization, he went 21-19 with a 3.77 ERA and 407 strikeouts across 394.0 innings pitched.

The 26-year-old native of Livingston, NJ was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 19th round of the 2021 amateur draft from Marist College, becoming the 20th player in Marist College history to be selected in the MLB Draft. Cardona was also teammates with New York Yankees outfielder Spencer Jones on the Brewster Whitecaps in the 2021 Cape Cod League.