Mourinho has confirmed he wants four signings

BOSTON – Its not yet June and thanks to the advent of the two wild card spots in each league, only two of 30 teams can make the argument to their fans that theyre out of the playoff hunt. With apologies to the Arizona Diamondbacks, a club that made offseason moves with the intention of contending and will now give new hire Tony La Russa time to assess the damage of a disastrous start, the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs have dropped far enough in the standings to consider the postseason unachievable. The Cubs have a prized piece at the front of their starting rotation. He is 29-year-old Jeff Samardzija, the ace of a bad baseball team whos expected to top the wish list of teams looking to bolster their pitching staffs ahead of the important games of August and September. Dont let the numbers fool you. Samardzija is good. The Cubs are not good. He is winless in nine starts this season despite posting a big league-best 1.62 ERA. In fact, Samardzijas winless skid stretches to 16 if you go back to last year. Chicago, with its impotent offence, doesnt score him any runs. An even crueler fate: Samardzija pitched seven scoreless innings against the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon at Wrigley Field, departing with a 2-0 lead, only to watch his closer and defence implode in the ninth. The Cubs lost in extra innings. Word around the Blue Jays is if the club is in contention approaching the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, ownership would be willing to loosen the purse strings to acquire additional help. Toronto needs help in its starting rotation with two spots in perpetual question. J.A. Happ is filling one at the moment. Somebody will fill the other come Saturday. Its expected to be Liam Hendriks, a former Minnesota Twin whos off to a strong start at Triple-A Buffalo. Blue Jays catcher Dioner Navarro was a Cub last year and caught Samardzija 10 times. "Hes really good," said Navarro. "I think hes one of those guys the numbers last year didnt show what hes capable of. Hes a horse. He wants the ball. He wants to win. Hes still got that football mentality. Hes that type of player." Samardzija features a sinking fastball, which he pumps up at 91 miles per hour at the low end, 97 at the high end. Hell spike a splitter; he throws a backdoor slider and a cut fastball. "Hes got everything, man," said Navarro. "Hes got it." Should Samardzija land in the American League East, a real possibility considering the interest hell likely draw not just from the Blue Jays but also the injury-riddled Yankees and maybe others, hell quickly find himself in a home run-friendly division with home run-friendly parks and lineups that stretch deep. Its not the National League Central. Navarro doesnt think he would have a problem adjusting. "I believe so," said Navarro. "I think hes a strikeout pitcher. Hes a swing and miss type of guy. I believe that hes got what it takes. I think the most important thing that hes got is hes a really competitive guy and he wants to win. Obviously hes going to have to make some adjustments coming from the NL Central to the American League East but I think hes going to be a huge asset if we get the opportunity to get him." The Cubs reported asking price for Samardzija in the offseason involved both top pitching prospects Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman. Needless to say that would be a steep price to pay. It may, however, be the going rate. With so many teams jumbled around the .500 mark and no sign of that changing in the foreseeable future, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer should have a number of intriguing offers to peruse. If Cliff Lees elbow problem is anything serious for the Phillies, another potential chip comes off the market and Samardzijas price goes up further. How about that? The perpetually weak Cubs will be dealing from a position of strength. CHECK OUT THE PODCAST Episode 5 of The Baseball Podcast, #TBP, is available online. TSN 1050 contributors Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star and Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com and I discuss Fenway Park, the Blue Jays red hot offence, the persistent issues with the back end of the starting rotation, Jose Reyes defence and whether the media is too easy on general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Click here to listen. Cheap Yeezy China . Blatter also told reporters Saturday after meeting with Qatars emir that the decision to award the tournament to the desert nation is "not reversible." There have been calls to move the tournament because of Qatars intense heat. Wholesale Yeezy Shop . His brother — Red Lake chiropractor Richard Radford — is en route to Sochi to cheer on his younger brother. "Ive been getting texts from Eric and he just says the atmosphere is amazing, its special,” he said. https://www.yeezychina.us/. "This isnt really the week you want to lose Chris Greaves," fellow lineman Glenn January said Wednesday after practice. Greaves is expected to miss several weeks after suffering a knee injury in last weeks 36-28 win over the Ottawa Redblacks. Cheap Yeezy Free Shipping .com) - On a night the Bulls played without Derrick Rose, it was time for Pau Gasol to take charge. Yeezy China . -- Without Carey Price, the run for a first Stanley Cup in 21 years got steeper and longer for the Montreal Canadiens.Which are the most credible Manchester United transfer rumours right now? Sky Sports has teamed up with Football Whispers to bring you the most up-to-date transfer talk as Jose Mourinho looks to improve his squad ahead of the upcoming Premier League season.Football Whispers have developed a unique algorithm to take all of the transfer rumours from across the globe and calculate the likelihood of them happening. They track transfer stories and give them a score out of 5.0, with the hottest Whispers closest to 5.0.Here are the top three:1. Paul Pogba (Juventus) - 4.4Sky sources revealed recently that Manchester Uniteds executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward had begun negotiations that could see Pogba return to Old Trafford in a world-record deal worth £100m, underscoring Pogbas position at the top of the Football Whispers charts.Despite Pogbas agent, Mino Raiola, saying initial talks with Real Madrid had taken place, and Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague adding that Madrid is the players preferred destination, we understand the European champions are out of the running for his signature. Pogba once again tops Football Whispers list for transfer rumours But there were further developments last week as the players agent told The Times that the France international could end up staying at Juventus, adding another twist in this long-running transfer saga.Mourinho has just one of his four summer targets left to pursue, but can the Portuguese prove his worth in the transfer market and convince Pogba to return to Old Trafford?2. Fabinho (Monaco) - 3.0 Fabinho has spent the last three seasons at Monaco, two on loan before signing a permanent deal in May 2015 Fabinho rocketed from a 1.1 Football Whispers rating on Sunday to 4.3 on Monday morning, as media reports continue to link the right-back to a £22m move to Old Trafford.He has now levelled out to 3.0, but the position is arguably one of the weaker in the Red Devils back line, while Fabinho and Mourinho share the same agent in Jorge Mendes and the Brazil international made his only loan appearance at Real Madrid under the new Manchester United manager in May 2013.3. Blaise Matuidi (PSG) - 2.8 Blaise Matuidi is back in the top three from Football Whispers Who will United turn to if Pogba opts against a move to Old Trafford? Well, the Football Whispers chart has PSG enforcer Matuidi waiting in the wings, should Mourinho fail to bring in his prime target.ddddddddddddThe 29-year-old had dropped out of the top three since Thursday, but makes a return on Monday.Mourinho has confirmed he wants four signings this summer. Could midfielder Matuidi complete the pack? Hottest Man Utd whispers - Tuesday, July 19 Player Club FW rating (out of 5) Paul Pogba Juventus 4.4 Fabinho Monaco 3.0 Blaise Matuidi PSG 2.8 James Rodriguez Real Madrid 1.9 Andre Gomes Valencia 1.1 Dont forget to follow the most up-to-date information around the clock with the Sky Sports Transfer Centre Also See: Transfer Centre Latest transfer news Paper Talk Man Utd fixtures ' ' '