Sitting perched atop the American League East standings, the Toronto Blue Jays continue to be interested in acquiring starting pitching help, as the club attempts to make their first postseason appearance in 20 years.

The Blue Jays have reportedly not had discussions with the Chicago Cubs regarding right-hander Jeff Samardzija since the offseason as the price appears to high, with Jon Heyman of CBS Sports noting Friday that Toronto will more likely be targeting a rental player over one locked into a multi-year contract.

As things stand Toronto expects to focus more this summer on "rental" pitchers, as it wants to avoid gutting its farm system. With rentals the expected preference, Royals star James Shields is seen as a possible Jays target should he hit the trade market.

Toronto's reluctance to meet the prospect laden demands that the Cubs want for Samardzija comes from acquisitions in recent years that have depleted a once loaded farm system. Henderson Alvarez, Adeiny Hechavarria, Jake Marisnick and Justin Nicolino all went to the Miami Marlins while Travis d'Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard were dealt to the New York Mets.

Despite claims at the beginning of the season that management were told by ownership that they were tapped out for money to spend on then free-agent pitcher Ervin Santana, general manager Alex Anthopoulos noted Thursday that the team will have some financial flexibility if needed.