Kansas City Royals Part Ways With Veteran Reliever John Schreiber

The right-hander’s time in Kansas City comes to an end

Jun 22, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher John Schreiber (46) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the eighth inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported Monday that right-handed pitcher John Schreiber was claimed by the New York Yankees. The Kansas City Royals placed the reliever on waivers over the weekend.

Schreiber is in his final year of team control and is playing on an expiring one-year contract. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, with the Yankees taking on the remaining balance of his contract.

Ahead of this year’s trade deadline, Schreiber was viewed as a likely candidate to be moved, as Kansas City was expected to part with several of its rental pieces. However, that ultimately was not the case, as the Royals did not trade him before the deadline.

John Schreiber heads to New York

Jun 22, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher John Schreiber (46) reacts after pitching the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Schreiber spent three seasons with Kansas City, posting a 3.71 ERA across 165 innings in a Royals uniform. During that span, he allowed 68 earned runs while recording 144 strikeouts.

This season, Schreiber carries a 3.65 ERA over 49 1/3 innings with 36 strikeouts. The 32-year-old has found success by avoiding barrels and generating ground balls. According to Statcast, Schreiber has posted a 6.3% barrel rate and a 45.1% ground-ball rate.

The highlight of the season for the right-hander was undoubtedly his strong May. Schreiber allowed just one earned run over 10 1/3 innings during the month. He followed that performance with 14 strikeouts in June.

Many expected Schreiber to be dealt at the trade deadline, but a deal never materialized. He now takes his career to New York, where the Yankees will become his fourth organization. Schreiber previously spent time with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and Royals.