Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos: Trade talks for pitching starting to move

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays are in the market for pitching help, particularly for their bullpen, with free agent right-hander Rafael Soriano among their targets.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos said Friday he is "going to look to add if we can" as the Blue Jays opened up a six-game homestand against AL-best Houston.

While Anthopoulos and his staff are currently "immersed" in preparations for next week's draft, the GM acknowledged trade talks "are starting to move at a little bit more of a pace."

Toronto relievers have nine blown saves this season, tied with Atlanta and Miami for second-most in the majors. Arizona leads with 13 blown saves.

The Blue Jays are last in the majors with six saves, and they haven't had one since May 4. Their team ERA of 4.41 is worst in the AL.

"If we were going to spend any payroll dollars, those are probably going to be allocated to the mound in some capacity," Anthopoulos said.

Soriano, who spent the past two years with Washington, has yet to play this season. He recently fired agent Scott Boras and is reportedly scheduled to hold a workout in the Dominican Republic on Thursday.

Soriano has 207 career saves, including 40 or more in three of the past five seasons.

"I normally don't comment specifically about players but I think he's someone that we'll look into," Anthopoulos said of Soriano.

At 25-30, Toronto has the fifth-worst record in the AL. However, the Blue Jays are just 4 1/2 games behind the first-place Yankees. Anthopoulos said the AL East is "wide open."

"The fortunate thing for us is no one really took off in the division," Anthopoulos said. "When I look at the club overall and I look at the division, where we're positioned and the upside, I still think we've got a very good team and a chance to make a run."