Less than seven weeks remain until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Will the Blue Jays add a much-needed arm to their rotation?

“I’m a big Mark Buehrle fan,” one evaluator was saying. “I love his approach. He works so quickly, fields his position and hardly walks anyone. But come October, you need someone who can hump it up there at 95 mph.”

Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey doesn’t fit that description.

So, who starts Game 1 of the Jays first post-season since 1993, assuming that a) they get there and b) there is time to set the rotation?

Unless they fall, oh, say five games back in the wild-card race, the front office has to try to find an answer to that question.

“Remember Dave Parker would say: ‘When the leaves turn brown I’ll be wearing the batting crown’?” asked one scout. “Same with pitching: When the leaves turn brown, you’d have better have some hard throwers.

“Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine both won over 300 games. Both had losing records on good teams in October.”

The usual suspects for the Jays are still where they started the season: David Price with the Tampa Bay Rays, Jeff Samardzija with the Chicago Cubs; James Shields on the Kansas City Royals and Justin Masterson with the Cleveland Indians.

What we do know:

- The Royals have won six of seven to move to within 11/2 games of the AL Central Division leading Detroit Tigers going into Saturday’s games. It would be a surprise if Shields, eligible to become a free agent at year’s end, went anywhere other than the corner of 12th St., and Vine.

- The Indians are two games below .500, tied for last — 31/2 games behind the Tigers. Masterson is headed for free agency.

And the asking price for any established, front-line starter will be prospects.

- Lefty Daniel Norris made his 13th start for the class-A Dunedin Blue Jays on Thursday at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium before 809 fans and watchful eyes. Chaim Bloom, Tampa Bay’s director of baseball operations, and two Rays scouts were there, as were Cubs vice-president Tim Wilken, along with Blue Jays assistant general manager Andrew Tinnish, special assignment scout Russ Bove and pro cross-checker Dean Decillis.

Norris, 21, pitched five scoreless innings against the Daytona Cubs, allowing three base-runners on one hit and two walks, while striking out three. Norris lowered his ERA to 1.22 and has walked 18 and struck out 76 in 66.1 innings.

Now, the Rays and Cubs scouts could have been out for a drive and saw the lights and stopped for a hot dog, or they could have been checking out the Jays prospects.

They could also have been looking at Mississauga outfielder Dalton Pompey, 23, who as one evaluator said this week is “having an MVP-type” season in the Florida State League. He leads the league with 24 steals and is among the leaders in slugging (.462), OPS (.854) and hits (74).

Or, they were just seeing how stacked the Jays’ cupboard was: Taylor Cole, 24, is 5-2 with a 2.19 ERA walking 16 and striking out 95 in 78 innings. Lefty Matt Boyd, 23, is 5-1 with an 0.55 ERA walking nine and fanning 55 in 48.2 innings (but scuffled at double-A New Hampshire, 0-2, 8.31) and K.C. Hobson, 23, has 57 RBIs in 61 games (with seven homers) and major league blood lines as the son of Butch Hobson.

There was talk this spring that the Rays could not afford to keep Price this year. He’s in his seventh season, but had four years and 164 days service on opening day. So, he’s eligible for free agency after the 2016 season. He’s earning $14 million and is eligible for salary arbitration.

- Jays senior adviser Mel Didier and Decillis were at Wrigley Field to see Samardzija beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 earlier this month. He pitched seven innings allowing two runs on five hits and one walk, fanning eight in a 103-pitch outing.

The Cubs are preparing to move Samardzija and the asking price, according to those in the know, is four players in return.

Samardzija, 29, is eligible for salary arbitration next season and will be a free agent after the 2016 season. He’s had little run support this season and is 2-6 with a 2.77 ERA in 14 starts, walking 26 and fanning 82 in 91 innings.

- And a new name to the mix: Cubs right-hander Jason Hammel, who is 6-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 13 starts walking 18 and striking out 76 in 83.1 innings.

Hammel, 31, started off with the Rays, then moved to hitters parks: Coors Field with the Colorado Rockies and Camden Yards in Baltimore.

“He’s not Samardzija or any of those top guys. He’s probably a No. 4, but he would not cost as much,” said an American League scout.

The search continues.

BRIEFLY

Colorado first baseman Justin Morneau singled home a run Wednesday for his 900th career RBI, moving him past Matt Stairs for second place on the career RBI list of Canadians ... Dave Pepe, the 31st-round second baseman the Jays signed from Pace University, is the grandson of legendary former New York Daily News scribe Phil Pepe ... The search begins: Jays scouts Chuck Lamar and Mike Mangan were at the Perfect Game National Showcase in Fort Myers, beginning to look for players for the 2015 June draft. Mississauga’s Josh Naylor of the Ontario Blue Jays hit a triple and set a showcase record when his throw from first base was clocked at 93 mph ... Great Sportchek commercial with Casey Janssen, his father Jack, Brett Cecil, his pop Duane and Steve Delabar and his father also named Steve ... Happy Father’s Day.

bob.elliott@sunmedia.ca