John Schreiber Could Make a Lot of Sense for the Nationals

The Washington Nationals have been one of the most surprising teams in baseball in 2026. 

After letting go of general manager Mike Rizzo, the Nationals have cleaned house and begun anew under new President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni. They hired Blake Butera as manager, made some key front-office and roster changes, and are now 41-40 as of June 25.

Last season, they were 66-96 in Rizzo's last year as head of Nationals baseball operations.

Washington has one of the best offenses in the league, which has been key to their surprising success.

As of June 25, the Nationals rank 1st in runs scored, 2nd in stolen bases, and 4th in home runs and 4th in runs scored. The hitting has been led primarily by young stars such as outfielder James Wood, shortstop CJ Abrams, corner infielders Curtis Mead and Luis Garcia Jr., and outfielder Daylen Lile. All five players are 26 and under.

Unfortunately, the pitching hasn't been great this year, with the bullpen being a particular area of struggle for the Nationals. 

According to Fangraphs, the Nationals rank last in pitching fWAR with a 0.5 mark. They rank 26th in ERA (4.70), 28th in xERA (4.96), and 29th in FIP (4.81). They have particularly struggled with the long ball as a staff, as their 13.3% HR/FB ranks 29th, better than only the Chicago Cubs (14.8%). 

The bullpen metrics alone are arguably even worse.

The Nationals' bullpen ranks 27th in ERA (4.90), 29th in xERA (4.93), and 28th in FIP (4.93). In terms of bullpen fWAR, Washington ranks last in baseball with a -2.1 mark. They are slightly worse than the Royals, who rank 29th in reliever fWAR at -1.6. 

While the Royals do not have a ton of bullpen assets to offer, they do have one strong reliever who could make sense for the Nationals' bullpen: John Schreiber.

After a slow start, Schreiber has put up one of his best seasons yet as a Kansas City reliever. 

In 34 games and 31.2 IP, he has a 2.56 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. The 32-year-old veteran hasn't been a strikeout machine by any means (19.2% K%), but he floods the strike zone, induces weak contact, and generates a lot of groundballs, as evidenced by his Statcast percentiles this season via TJ Stats.

Now, the Nationals may not be buyers at the Trade Deadline.

Toboni is in year one, and he's trying to rebuild the organization, which takes some time. While Washington is over .500, they are in a tough division, as they not only sit in second-to-last place in the NL East, but they only have 4.4% odds to make the postseason, according to Fangraphs. For context, the Royals, who are now 34-48 after today's 13-2 loss to the Rays, have 5.2% odds. 

Still, Washington has had some positive momentum, and it may be a good time to buy to build fan buy-in, especially after so many years of mediocrity since they last won the World Series in 2019. 

Without much great bullpen depth, the Nationals could acquire Schreiber to boost their reliever production and make a run for an NL Wild Card spot. Furthermore, the Royals could take advantage of the Nationals' reliever needs and perhaps get some much-needed prospect capital in return.

Schreiber Has Been Excellent Since May 1

Schreiber has posted strong numbers this year, with an ERA under three. That's far better than what other key relievers have produced this year for Kansas City, such as Lucas Erceg (5.16) and Matt Strahm (6.20).

However, it seems like Schreiber has tapped another level as a reliever since May 1.

Since May 1, the former 15th-round pick has been the Royals' best reliever with a 1.35 ERA, 8.6 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9. Schreiber and newcomer Alex Lange have been the top Royals arms out of the bullpen over this nearly two-month sample.

Now, home runs have still been a problem for Schreiber, as he is allowing 1.4 HR/9. However, his TJ Stuff+ metrics have increased significantly since May compared to earlier in the season. That can be seen in the TJ Stuff+ summary comparison below. 

From March 29 to April 30, Schreiber posted a 99 TJ Stuff, a 48.6% zone rate, a 23.9% chase%, 11.2% whiff%, and .387 xwOBACON. From May 3 to June 22, he has a 100 TJ Stuff+, a 49.5% zone rate, a 31.1% chase%, a 27.5% whiff%, and .387 xwOBACON. Yes, he's allowed more hard hits since May 1, but everything else has been better and significantly so.

A big difference for Schreiber has been four-seamer velocity.

In March and April, he averaged 92.3 MPH on his four-seamer, and as a result, his whiff rate (19.2%) and xwOBACON (.455) were paltry. In May and June? His four-seamer bumped up to 94.2 MPH. He began throwing it 7.3% harder, generating a 37.8% whiff rate and a .305 xwOBACON. Those have been key not just to his overall success but also to the increase in K% since May 1.

Furthermore, not only have the strikeout and ERA results been promising with the increase in fastball velocity, but Schreiber's velocity improvement also seems sustainable. Here's a look at his game-by-game fastball velocity chart, and it's trending positively overall, a good sign that he can carry that over into July and beyond. 

Now, Schreiber will be a free agent after this season, so he'd likely be a rental for the Nationals. That said, he's pitching better than ever before, and the Nationals could utilize a guy who can help stabilize a bullpen that hasn't been all that consistent in 2026.

Nationals Lack Late-Inning Depth

When looking at the Nationals' bullpen performance since May 1, they have gotten some strong performances from guys like Brad Lord and Clayton Beeter. Unfortunately, after those guys, the most productive relievers for Washington have been long-relief types. 

Lord, Beeter, and Orlando Ribalta are the only relievers with 10 or more appearances since May 1 with ERA marks under four. Mitchell Parker, Paxton Schultz, and Gus Varland all have 10 or more appearances over that same time frame, but they sport ERAs over 6. That is not effective, even for an offensive-first team.

The Nationals wouldn't need Schreiber to come in and be their closer. It seems like Beeter can handle that situation just fine (and his 2.69 xERA and 2.58 FIP hint that better days are ahead). That said, Schreiber could be an effective 7th or 8th-inning setup man that could lock down in high-leverage situations. That gives the Nationals bullpen more weapons in the transition to Beeter in the ninth. 

Who Could the Royals Get From the Nationals?

Schreiber is not going to command a great prospect package from Washington. After all, he's a reliever, and he's a free agent next year who likely wouldn't return to D.C. 

While I don't think Schreiber would command a top prospect, he could help the Royals net a "turnaround" project or two in return.

Two names that could be included in a Schreiber deal are outfielder Robert Hassell III and pitcher Andry Lara. Both are post-hype prospects who have failed to do much in the Majors and are currently languishing in Triple-A.

Hassell is the more high-profile of the two. He was one of the prized prospects in the Juan Soto trade with the Padres, but he hasn't hit enough to be a relevant player at the Major League level. 

In 70 games and 206 plate appearances last season, Hassell hit .223 with a 58 wRC+. He was plagued by a 30.1% K% and 3.9% BB% with the Nationals a year ago. In Triple-A this year, he's hitting .224 with a 67 wRC+ in 228 plate appearances. Thus, he's not due for a call-up anytime soon, especially with a 26.3% K%. 

However, he has shown some intriguing skills in his Statcast profile in Triple-A this season. That makes one wonder if he could thrive in a new change of scenery.

Hassell barrels the ball at a decent rate (6.6%), and the average EV and LA Sweet-Spot% ranked in the 60th percentile or above. At 24 years old, he's too young to give up on, but he seems like a superfluous asset for the Nationals right now. Conversely, the Royals could give Hassell a chance in CF as soon as this year, especially with Kyle Isbel out for an extended period of time.

The same story is true for Lara on the pitching end.

Lara was ranked as the 27th-best prospect in the Nationals system in 2024, according to Fangraphs. He's primarily been utilized as a starter for Triple-A Rochester, with 13 starts (14 appearances) and 64.1 IP. The sample hasn't been great, as he has a 5.60 ERA, but his 5.02 FIP and 4.97 xFIP are more encouraging marks. He also demonstrated solid grades on the splitter and sinker, and they seem to generate soft contact well, based on xwOBACON. 

Lara made his MLB debut with the Nationals last year and posted an 8.79 ERA in nine outings and 14.1 IP. While his 5.44 FIP was better, he struggled with command, as evidenced by his 12.8% K% and 1.25 K/BB ratio. Thus, he doesn't seem to fit in either the Nationals' rotation or bullpen at this time.

Still, he seems like a pitcher who could benefit from a change of scenery and a change in pitch mix. The Royals have successfully tweaked or added pitches to struggling pitchers' repertoires, with varying degrees of success. Lara seems like another candidate.

Maybe throw the sinker and splitter more and four-seamer less? Add a changeup or sweeper into the mix? With those changes, it's easy to see Lara see a spike in positive production as a member of the Royals. 

Would Schreiber be enough for Hassell and Lara? That's hard to tell, but it's a conversation worth having between Toboni and Royals President of Baseball Operations JJ Picollo.