We were close to finalizing our new player spotlight series. Then, the Royals traded pitching prospect David Sandlin to the Boston Red Sox for right-handed relief pitcher John Schreiber to help bolster their bullpen even more. Schreiber has posted a 3.58 ERA with 165 strikeouts over 143.1 innings during his five-year career.
Schreiber didn’t start his career with the Boston Red Sox. The Michigan native was drafted out of the University of Northwestern Ohio in the 15th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut with the Tigers in 2019, working out of the bullpen. He struggled in 2019 and 2020, posting a 6.23 and 6.32 ERA, respectively.
That eventually led to the Tigers designating Schreiber for assignment on February 12, 2021, when they signed outfielder Nomar Mazara. Despite the struggles, the Red Sox saw something they liked and claimed the righty six days later. It paid off, and the Red Sox were able to unlock Schreiber’s potential. Now, he joins the Royals, who seem to be signaling that they want to try at least to win some baseball games in 2024.
The rumors were flying this offseason that the Royals were trying to acquire a closer to help solidify their newly revamped bullpen. Schreiber joins the likes of Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Nick Anderson, John McMillon, and James McArthur as the guys likely to have locked in bullpen spots. Schreiber should have a high-leverage role and pitch in the late innings as a shutdown arm.
Schreiber broke out in 2022 when he posted a 2.22 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 65 innings while notching eight saves. Royals Weekly pointed out in a really good thread that much of his success that year was due to a massive increase in his ground ball rate. He posted a 58.1% ground ball rate that year, surpassing his second-highest of 42.9%. A lot of that was due to his sinker. Royals Weekly also mentions that in 2023, his sinker wasn’t as effective and lost almost 2 inches of drop and an inch of horizontal break.
Regardless of those changes, he still had some success, striking out 53 batters in 46.2 innings. Part of this is because of his good extension on his fastball and his ability to miss barrels. The goal for Schreiber coming into 2024 will be to get that sinker back to its 2022 form. Tyler Milliken, who covers the Red Sox, mentions that Schreiber has been working on a new cutter this offseason, which could be a huge addition to his arsenal. If he can get his sinker back and make the cutter a new effective pitch, Schreiber could be an absolute force in the back of this Royals bullpen.
It will be interesting to see how the bullpen ultimately pans out and who will be in what role. Expect Schreiber to play a major part and get plenty of innings in ball games, whether in the 6th, 7th, or 8th innings.