FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Kansas City Royals had their sights set on John Schreiber and were willing to part with one of their top pitching prospects to add the right-hander to their bullpen, Alex Cora said on Saturday.

“They’ve been pushing hard to get him, and they finally did,” the Red Sox manager said minutes after the news broke.

It wasn’t an easy decision to trade the amiable Schreiber, who is well-liked and respected in the Red Sox clubhouse.

“He worked his butt off to become a guy that we rely on,” Cora said. “Velocity went up, attitude was amazing, he loved everything about being a Red Sock.

“Obviously, not healthy 100% the last few years, but when he was good, he was really good.”

Unlike the American League East, which is almost always a fight to the finish, the AL Central is decidedly less intense. Last year, the Minnesota Twins won the division with an 87-75 record that would’ve made them the fourth-place team in the East. No other Central club finished at .500.

The Royals haven’t had a winning season since winning the World Series in 2015, and finished 56-106 last year. However, their recent track record belies the success they’re seeing after a lengthy rebuild.

“He’s going to an organization that, they have done some things in the offseason, adding some veterans in the rotation, they got a good young core led by (Bobby) Witt Jr.,” Cora said. “You never know in that division.”