As the Blue Jays enter the final 71 games of the regular season, they boast the best starting rotation in the American League, battling the Indians as best in that category. In addition, the once-dormant offence is heating to 2015 proportions.

What could possibly go wrong?

For one, there may be a giant wall waiting to stop the Jays’ starting rotation in its tracks, a barrier that would make Donald Trump proud.

Yes, the Jays’ starting five has been incredibly consistent. Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, Aaron Sanchez and R.A. Dickey have made 89 of 91 starts. Drew Hutchison made the other two, both of which were carefully planned timeouts for Estrada and his sometimes wonky back.

It seems impossible the same five starters can keep up that ironman pace, judging by recent history. From 2010-15, the Jays averaged just 126 games started from their top-five members of the rotation, needing an average of 36 starts from others per year.

This year, just two?

Estrada is on pace for 186 innings; his career-high in any calendar year, majors and minors combined, is 181 innings last season. Everyone else in the Jays’ current rotation is eating up innings at a pace that would put them over the 200-plateau by season’s end. Dickey is the only starter in the group that has reached that level; he is going for his sixth 200-inning season in a row.

The others? Happ topped out at 174 1/3 innings in 2011, with Stroman maxing at 166 1/3 two seasons ago. Sanchez never has combined for more than 133 1/3 innings, which he did in 2014. Among that group, Sanchez is aware the Jays plan to move him to the bullpen as an eighth-inning set-up man when he approaches and passes that 2014 career-high.

With all of those indicators of need, gleaned from prior years’ lack of innings plus historical precedent that suggests the Jays will need significant starting help before season’s end — and don’t even talk about October if they make the playoffs — do they have the necessary arms within the organization?

The suggestion by manager John Gibbons has been Hutchison, waiting patiently at Triple-A with the Bisons, plus bullpen right-handers Jesse Chavez and Joe Biagini.

Chavez, in 2014-15 with the A’s, worked 146 and 157 innings respectively, making a total of 48 starts for Oakland. If required, he could be stretched out and would have plenty of innings left. Biagini would be a huge gamble on the other hand. He had not started a game above Double-A in the San Francisco Giants’ organization in 2015 and his two-pitch repertoire plays out better in the ’pen.

If the Jays do reach out to acquire another starting pitcher before the end of July around the deadline, he would have to be better than Hutchison and Chavez and ideally a rental, with only the remainder of this season on his contract or, at most ’16 and a controllable 2017 via a multi-year contract or arbitration. Otherwise, if said pitcher is a desirable trade-deadline commodity coveted by other teams as well, the Jays don’t possess the upper-level prospects to compete for pitchers like the Angels’ Matt Shoemaker or Jake Odorizzi of the Rays.

The Red Sox gave up Anderson Espinoza, ranked among the top-15 prospects in all of baseball, to the Padres for all-star starter Drew Pomeranz on Thursday.

There are 11 MLB teams currently sitting under the .500 mark. If those teams are being realistic about their chances, then those front offices would realize the wild-card is a long-shot and they might be more inclined to be sellers in an attempt to save some money. Those teams include the Rays, Twins, A’s, Angels, Phillies, Braves, Brewers, Reds, Rockies, Padres and Diamondbacks.

Pitchers that fit the bill for Toronto’s short-term needs might include Rich Hill (A’s), Jeremy Hellickson (Phils), Tommy Milone (Twins), Andrew Cashner (Padres), Jorge de la Rosa (Rockies) and Matt Garza (Brewers).

Then there are those teams currently above .500 that might have veteran starting pitchers become available as the result of other pitchers returning from injuries. That list includes Jon Niese (Pirates) and Jarred Cosart (Marlins). But are any of those enough of an upgrade over Hutchison and Chavez the Jays would think of giving up a premium prospect?

The second pitching need for the Jays as they try to support their blossoming offence and superb infield defence is in the bullpen. But available veterans in that category fall out of trees closer to the deadline and are available even into the month of August, like Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins a year ago.

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If the Jays hadn’t painted themselves into a corner with Sanchez and if history didn’t support the fact five men don’t normally make 158 starts in a season, there would be no need for fan concern.

But the front office duo of president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins are well aware.

So if they fail to make a deal to acquire a starter and at least one bullpen arm, they are merely rolling the dice and hoping for good health.

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