ANAHEIM, Calif. — Add another contestant to the hit new game show: Who Wants to Be a Yankees Playoff Reliever?

John Schreiber will take his shot beginning Tuesday, after the Yankees claimed the veteran right-handed reliever off waivers from the Royals on Monday, marking the latest flier they have taken on an arm that they hope might click in their patched-up bullpen over the final month of the regular season and perhaps into October.

Schreiber, who has about $600,000 left on his contract that the Yankees will assume, had a 3.65 ERA in 55 appearances this season with the Royals. But the sidearmer was especially good against right-handed batters, whom he held to a .143 average and .414 OPS. Lefties, meanwhile, hit .326 with a 1.024 OPS against him.

The low-risk move — in line with the recent signings of Michael Fulmer and Justin Topa (since designated for assignment) — allows the Yankees to see if Schreiber can carve out a role in the coming weeks, at a time when they have lost Fernando Cruz, Angel Chivilli and Ryan Weathers (who was expected to eventually end up in the bullpen) to injuries.

After a trade deadline at which GM Brian Cashman was unable to add any relievers, the top three Yankees bullpen arms are David Bednar, Brent Headrick and Paul Blackburn. But Aaron Boone has leaned heavily on Headrick and Blackburn — especially Headrick, who entered Monday second in the majors with 70 appearances, while Blackburn was up to 53 appearances in his first full season as a reliever.

John Schreiber pitching for the Royals against the Tigers on Aug. 21, 2026. Getty Images

The Yankees called up starter-turned-reliever Luis Gil on Sunday to see if he can help and have Clarke Schmidt on rehab assignment in hopes of him also joining their bullpen at some point in September. Gil, who missed three-plus months with a shoulder injury after the Yankees demoted him to Triple-A in late April, did not allow a run in 4 ¹/₃ innings (three games) out of the bullpen with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“He’s earned the right to be back here,” Boone said. “He seems healthy, he seems strong, the fastball seems like it’s in a good place, the profile’s been good. So encouraged with how he’s been looking, how he’s been bouncing back.”

While Cruz is almost certainly done for the year, the Yankees are still hoping Weathers can factor into the bullpen late.

Fulmer, meanwhile, has quickly been thrown into some higher-leverage spots and shown some reason for optimism, though it is still too early to tell whether the Yankees have something in him.

But that is what this final month of the regular season will entail — aside from trying to chase down the Rays for the AL East — as the Yankees try to find out who can be real factors come October. They cannot keep running Headrick and Blackburn out there every day as the bridge to Bednar, so there will be opportunities for others to be thrown in the fire and see how they perform.

That group now includes Schreiber, who also previously pitched for the Red Sox and Tigers during his eight-year career, and appeared in all four games of the 2024 ALDS against the Yankees for the Royals and did not allow a run.

The 32-year-old is not a strikeout artist (only 36 in 49 ¹/₃ innings) or known for his velocity (his four-seam fastball averages 93.8 mph). He has struggled some with his command, with a 10.8 percent walk rate that is the second highest of his career. But he has a five-pitch mix that the Yankees likely have some ideas on how to best use, and at this point on the calendar, he may be as good of an external option as they will be able to find.