The month of May seems like so long ago for the Blue Jays. Custom Washington Nationals Jerseys . Since building a healthy lead in the East with an incredible 21-9 record in the second month of the season, the Jays have fallen off dramatically. Since June 1, they are only 14-19 and have actually only won eight of their last 27 games. They are still only two games back of first place Baltimore in the East but if the slide doesnt stop now, its going to be all over by the end of this month. A boost to the starting rotation would have been a good thing when the Jays were in first place and tearing up the league at the plate. But with Brett Lawrie gone for the rest of July with his broken finger, and now Edwin Encarnacion on the 15-day DL with a Grade 2 quad muscle strain, the Jays need to add a bat - preferably someone who can play second base or third or both. It almost has to be a right-hand bat considering the Jays are the worst hitting team in the American League against lefties. Since the Jays are in buying mode theyll probably have to target the teams that have no reasonable hope of getting even a Wild Card berth. In the American League, I count six teams that are realistically out of it, although Im still hesitant to count out Tampa Bay because the East is so weak. So for arguments sake, the six are Tampa Bay in the East, the White Sox and Minnesota in the Central and Texas and Houston in the West. Since Boston and Tampa Bay likely wont trade within their own division, that leaves four teams the Jays can talk with. Since Houston wont give up Jose Altuve and the Twins likely wont surrender Brian Dozier who fit the bill as right-handed hitters and solid second baseman, youre down to Texas and the White Sox. Since the Rangers are so injury ravaged, I cant see them making any significant deals until the off-season. That leaves Chicago. The White Sox have a right-hand hitting second baseman in Gordon Beckham, whom the Blue Jays were rumoured to be interested in in the off-season. Beckham is hitting .248 this season with seven homers and 24 runs batted in. Hes 24 years old. Cleveland is hanging around the .500 mark and isnt technically out, but in a week or two could decide to move some people. Theyve got 33-year-old utilityman Mike Aviles - yes, the same guy the Blue Jays got as compensation from Boston for manager John Farrell. Hes a .272 career hitter who can play second or third and maybe even shortstop in an emergency. In the National League, the six teams on the outside looking in include the Mets and the Phillies in the East, the Cubs in the Central and San Diego, Colorado and Arizona in the West. The Phils have a good one in Chase Utley, but he reportedly wont waive his no-trade clause to go to a team with artificial turf such as the Blue Jays. The Mets Daniel Murphy is rumoured to be available, but he is New Yorks only All-Star rep and hits left handed. Still, hes hitting .294 with seven homers and 35 runs batted in go with 11 stolen bases. The Cubs Darwin Barney at 28 is having his second straight down year at the plate, hitting .219 though he does hit right. The Jays may have an interest in a man they originally drafted in second baseman Aaron Hill. Aaron is two years removed from his last great season with the D-Backs and is hitting only .241 this season with six homers and 42 runs batted in. The right-handed hitter is also 32 years old and is owed just shy of $30 million through 2016. J.P Morosi of Fox Sports has heard that the Jays are talking with San Diego about third baseman Chase Headley. The 30-year-old switch hitter, who has had back trouble on and off over the past couple of years, is only hitting .217 with six homers and 25 runs batted in. On top of that, any team acquiring him would have to make a qualifying offer of about $15 million to retain a draft pick at the end of the first round should Headley decide to walk. Then again if he decides to stay, a team is on the hook for $15 million for a player who may or may not be worth anything close to that. The Padres also have a 25-year-old right hand hitting second baseman in Jedd Gyorko, who cracked 23 homers last year in his first season. But this time around hes only batting .162 with five homers and 24 runs batted in. Of that entire bunch, I would probably opt for the Mets Murphy with Aaron Hill a close second. Unusual Repair Talk about the miracles of modern surgery. On Monday Arizona GM Kevin Towers is having surgery to repair a damaged vocal cord. Hes having it replaced with the vocal cord from a cadaver. Towers figures he will be able to talk again in three or four days and should be back at work in a week. Boston Turnaround They still have over 70 games to go, but the Boston Red Sox are close to doing something very unusual: going from last place, to first and a World Series victory, and back to last place. The Bosox dropped back into the basement behind Tampa Bay at 39-49. In 2012 under Bobby Valentine, they finished 69-93. Then a year ago John Farrell led them to a 97-65 mark and a World Series victory over St. Louis and now they are cellar dwellers again. Washington Nationals Gear . PETERSBURG, Fla. Frank Robinson Nationals Jersey . Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., fell in the middle of her routine and placed fifth in the ladies free skate at Iceberg Skating Palace (110.73 points), but that was all the Canadians needed after a strong performance by Kevin Reynolds in the mens free earlier Sunday. https://www.cheapnationals.com/967r-wander-suero-jersey-nationals.html . Irving played 10 minutes Sunday night before going to the locker room. He had two points and four assists, missing all five of his shots. The All-Star game MVP is the top scorer among Eastern Conference point guards with 21. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals clubhouse mood was sombre after a 6-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Eric Hosmer will be going on disabled list after an X-ray revealed a displaced fracture of the third finger of his right hand. "Very frustrating, bad timing," Hosmer said. "The good thing is I can still get back for that last month and make that last push. They said as quick as three weeks and long as six. Obviously, Im going to be shooting for the three to four weeks." Hosmer was hit by pitch from Jon Lester on July 20 and was held out of the lineup for six of the next seven games. He returned to the lineup Tuesday and aggravated it on a check swing in the fourth inning. Alcides Escobar hit a two-run triple and Yordano Ventura pitched seven effective innings as the Royals completed a 5-2 homestand. "It was a great pitch to hit, a fastball right down the middle," Escobar said. "I didnt want to miss it." Escobars triple highlighted a four-run seventh. The inning also included Jarrod Dysons run-scoring single. Dyson stole second and third and scored on catcher Eric Fryers throwing error. Ventura (8-8) limited the Twins to two runs, one earned, on five hits, while striking out seven. Danny Santana led off the game with a home run. Mike Moustakas committed two throwing errors in the third to gift the Twins with an unearned run. Caleb Thielbar (2-1) retired only one of three batters he faced for Minnesota. Twins right-hander Kevin Correia, who had yielded 11 runs on 17 hits and five walks in eight innings in losing his previous two starts, left after six innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits. His 13 losses top the American League. "I was able to go out there get ahead of some guys," Correia said. "I was throwing strikes and able to mix stuff up late." Kurt Suzuki hit a pinch RBI-double in the eighth off Wade Davis, the first extra-base the Royals right-hander allowed in 46 innings and 44 appearancess. Washington Nationals Store. "Ive never seen anything like it, never," Royals manager Ned Yost said. Greg Holland worked a flawless ninth for his 29th save in 31 opportunities. The Twins stranded 11 runners, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth and eighth and stranding two runners in two other innings. "Were leaving way too many runners on early in the game," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "Were not coming up with a big hit and coming up with those extra runs that you need. They show up late." A ROYAL THIEF Dysons two steals brings hit total to a major league-leading nine in July. "Dyson created a run by himself," Yost said. TWINS MOVES The Twins signed Suzuki to a two-year $12 million contract with an option for 2017. They also traded outfielder Sam Fuld, who hit .274 in 53 games, to Oakland for left-hander Tommy Milone, who went 6-3 with a 3.55 ERA in 16 starts. Milone was optioned to Triple-A Rochester, but is expected to join the Minnesota rotation soon. The Twins also called up first baseman Kennys Vargas, who hit .281 with 17 home runs for Double-A New Britain. TRAINERS ROOM Twins: Second baseman Brian Dozier (jammed left thumb) was not in the lineup. He injured the thumb sliding into third base in the fourth inning Wednesday. Right-hander Ricky Nolasco (right elbow soreness) threw a bullpen session with no problem. He will begin a minor league rehab assignment next week. Royals: Left-hander Jason Vargas (appendectomy) will return to the rotation Saturday, starting at Oakland. It will be his first start since July 8. ON DECK Royals: Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who went 1-3 with a 10.07 ERA in four July starts, will start the series opener at Oakland. Guthrie allowed 22 runs on 34 hits, 10 walks and four hit batters in 19 2-3 innings in July. Twins: Left-hander Logan Darnell will make his second career start against the White Sox. He lost his first major league start July 26 against the White Sox, yielding seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. ' ' '