Only two franchises have failed to make the MLB postseason in the wild-card era.

If the season ended today, both of those streaks would be snapped. The season doesnt end today, of course, so it doesnt really matter that the Royals and Blue Jays are atop the AL Central and AL East, respectively. Kansas City hasnt made the postseason since winning the 1985 World Series, and Toronto hasnt been since winning the 1993 fall cla sic.

Jake Elliott Jersey What do these two teams need to do to play in October? Lets look

Blue Jays

Toronto leads the majors in home runs and is third in runs scored. Offense isnt the Nigel Bradham Jersey i sue. The Blue Jays need pitching help, which is why theyve been connected to pretty much every available hurler thought to be on the trade market.

Though it might be tough to convince Tampa Bay to deal David Price within the division, Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos will explore the po sibility. The Blue Jays are considered a frontrunner to land Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija, though meeting Chicagos prospect demands wont be easy. The Jays would prefer an ace, make no mistake.

The rotation is actually in better shape than most people realize. At the top of the current configuration, veteran Mark Buehrle has Nick Foles Jersey been outstanding (2.32 ERA in 15 starts) and youngster Drew Hutchison has been solid (3.62 ERA in 14 starts) in his first MLB action since Tommy John surgery. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey got off to a rough start, but he has a 3.23 ERA in his past 10 starts. J.A. Happ has been hit-or-mi s (4. Chuck Bednarik Jersey 04 ERA as a starter).

The bullpen was awful the first several weeks of the season, but has been better since closer Casey Jan sen returned from the DL (he has a 1.24 ERA). It helps that Sergio Santos is back; hes thrown two scorele s innings since returning from the DL. Still, theres no such thing as too many reliable relievers, and more arms wouldnt hurt.

Royals

The Royals are pretty much the opposite of the Blue Jays. Their pitching has been excellent, but they have done only an acceptable job scoring runs (eighth in the AL), Wes Hopkins Jersey but if the lack of power continues, that might be hard to keep up.

Kansas City hit just 39 home runs in its first 71 games (next-worst in the AL is Texas, at 51), a level of futility we havent seen in quite some time. In fact, we havent seen a team finish with fewer home runs than wins since the Brewers in 1992. Heading into Fridays contest, the Royals had 39 homers and 39 wins.

Theoretically, at least, some players the current roster will improve in that aspect. DH Billy Butler and 1B Eric Hosmer combined for 32 homers in 2013, but they have Harold Carmichael Jersey just six so far in 2014. Mike Moustakas had a horrible start to 2014 and has been a tiny bit better since his demotion to Triple-A, but his job isnt safe.

The Royals could look to upgrade in right field, too, where Nori Aoki is having his worst season, but he is KCs leadoff man. Itll be interesting to see how GM Dayton Moore chooses to proceed.