After a very successful home opening weekend in which the Toronto Blue Jays walked away with the series victory over the visiting Minnesota Twins the team got some bad news today. The team announced that slugger Jose Bautista would miss the three game series against the Oakland Athletics due to family concerns. Toronto would not give the media any more information on the matter except that the outfielder would make his return in Los Angeles when Toronto opens its series against the Angels on Friday.

Without Bautista manager John Farrell had to make some tweaks to his starting line-up against Oakland, moving Juan Rivera to right field while Jayson Nix manned third base as Edwin Encarnacion moved to the DH spot and thanks once again to the team’s all around depth Toronto managed to secure an exciting 7-6 win in ten innings.

The Jays had to bounce back from a disappointing Toronto debut from lefty Jo-Jo Reyes in order to secure the win. Reyes had a hard time locating his fastball, working up in the zone far too often throughout the contest. This led to a large hit total from the A’s which they turned into five runs through four innings. Reyes allowed nine hits and five earned runs in just three and a third innings of work.

Initially, Toronto was stifled by Oakland starter Brandon McCarthy, as the sinker pitch baffled Jays hitters once again. The Jays beat the ball into the ground on numerous occasions throughout the early part of the game. It was reminiscent of their performance against Twins starter Nick Blackburn on Sunday. McCarthy and Blackburn are carbon copies of one another on the mound and it showed against the Jays. Toronto managed one run off of the right-hander in the bottom of the fourth, albeit a hard one to earn.

The luck of the Blue Jays changed in the sixth inning when the team used their new speed style of play combined with sloppy defense from Oakland to put four runs on the board, tying the ball game. Rajai Davis and Yunel Escobar ignited the offense while Adam Lind, Aaron Hill, Encarnacion and Travis Snider drove in the runs for Toronto. Davis literally ran rampant on the base paths causing a game changing error from Kevin Kouzmanoff, distracting the third baseman on his way to third base. Davis then managed to score from third base when Kouzmanoff fell to the ground tracking down a ball in foul territory on the next at-bat.

McCarthy would get back on track for Oakland pitching eight innings, allowing five runs, two earned while allowing seven hits in an impressive debut performance for Oakland. The performance of McCarthy was a good sign for the right-hander who had not appeared in a Major League game since 2009. Toronto’s bullpen would even out the performance from McCarthy and make up for Reyes’ shaky start as Carlos Villanueva, David Purcey, Shawn Camp and Jon Rauch held the A’s scoreless over five and two thirds innings of work.

With the contest entering extra innings Oakland would score first as off-season acquisition Josh Willingham would hammer a Jason Frasor pitch into the left field stands for the go-ahead run. With Toronto down, the top of the team’s batting order was due up and once again it was Davis who would get the Jays off to a good start, hitting a single up the middle off of the newly inserted Grant Balfour. That would leave Escobar coming to the plate to match up against the right-hander. Balfour, a hard-throwing veteran who attacks the strike zone with fastball and slider combinations had his own power pitches work against him in the next at-bat. Balfour’s first pitch would be a fastball down the middle of the plate which Escobar tagged into the right field stands for a game-winning walk-off home run.

The Jays come from behind victory was another early season highlight for the team as they continue to impress.

The top of the order combination of Davis and Escobar have really shined for Toronto, albeit in a small two game sample size, while the team’s bullpen continues to pitch well and all-around the entire squad is contributing like a team should. The philosophy of Farrell is paying off so far, but the season is still early and the Jays have a lot of baseball in front of them.

The three game series between Toronto and Oakland will continue tomorrow night at the Rogers Centre with the game beginning at 7:07pm EST.

Right-hander Jesse Litsch will make his 2011 debut for Toronto against the A’s Dallas Braden, the man who has a perfect game on his resume from last season.

In front of a sold out Rogers Centre crowd consisting of 47,984 fans the Toronto Blue Jays opened up the 2011 season with a bang, defeating the Minnesota Twins 13-3.

The Jays came into the season after having a terrific spring with many question marks surrounding the team. Were the Jays going to be the same power-hitting threat from last season? How would the young starting rotation pitch? Could Ricky Romero take the reigns of ace after the departure of Shaun Marcum? How would the late decision to swap Jose Bautista from third base to right field pay off? Would Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind have any difficulty manning the corners defensively for Toronto? Would J.P. Arencibia leave his horrible spring behind in Florida and get back on track for the regular season?

The question marks were in abundance for Toronto with one thing being unquestionable. The excitement surrounding the team is resonating through Toronto. This is thanks to the acquisitions made and the plan set forth by general manager Alex Anthopoulos as well as the new addition of manager John Farrell, who has his team already believing in his philosophy of playing better all-around baseball, despite only steering the ship for a short period of time.

On this night the Jays did not look like a young squad full of potential question marks; the team looked like a well-oiled machine with the type of energy that had the fans in attendance beaming with joy.

After a memorable ceremony in honour of Pat Gillick and Roberto Alomar’s 2010 induction into the baseball Hall of Fame the Jays handed the ball to the left-hander Romero. With his family in attendance as well as his main squeeze, Miss USA 2010 Rima Fakih, Romero would show the baseball world that he can be a legitimate number one starter. An impressive and successful pitch selection headlined by his change-up, which was moving all around the plate, fooled Twins hitters all night. Romero looked comfortable with Arencibia behind the plate; the two knowing each other well after playing together in the minors for a long period of time. He would end up pitching a six and a third inning gem, allowing three runs, one of which was earned as well as seven hits. He did not walk anyone and struck out seven. I use the term gem for Romero’s performance as it was a great way for him to begin the season after a shaky spring and with all of the added pressure dropped on his shoulders. Aside from one bad inning in the seventh, which featured some defensive malfunctions on Toronto’s end, Romero was next to unhittable.

Romero could thank his team-mates for his comfort level throughout the performance, as they sprang out of the gates giving him early run support. New acquisition Rajai Davis showcased his speed and determination beating out a groundball to short to begin the game and it was all down hill for the Twins from there on. After a Yunel Escobar single, the Jays put one of their new baseball elements into play as Davis and Escobar would each steal bases. Twins starter Carl Pavano would walk Bautista to load the bases and bean Lind to pot Toronto’s first run of 2011. The Jays would continue to play effective baseball in the inning scoring all three base runners. Two runs scored via sacrifice flies and one came home thanks to second baseman Tsuyoshi Nishioka’s error.

The four run inning would not spell the end of the doom for Pavano as the Jays would light him up for eight runs, seven earned on six hits in total, three of those hits being home runs. Arencibia would get the home run party underway jacking a two-run shot to deep centre field, leaving his poor spring in his dust. Bautista would go yard with some authority after home plate umpire “Cowboy” Joe West would irritate him after stepping out of the batter’s box during Pavano’s initial windup to begin the at-bat. Lind would follow Bautista’s blast by hammering a Pavano pitch into the second deck of the right field stands. The home run ended the night for the Twins moustache man Pavano.

With the Jays up 8-0 they would not pull their feet off the throttle. Arencibia would hit a two-run triple in the fifth before Minnesota finally seemed to figure out a way to get Toronto hitters out. After the Twins got on the board in the seventh Arencibia would continue to make the baseball world aware that he is here to stay. The catcher would take Twins reliever Dusty Hughes deep for his second home run of the game. The dinger pushed his RBI total to five on the night. Lind would continue to impress offensively adding another RBI to his total, giving him three on the night and Bautista was more then solid as well, going three for four with a home run and three runs scored on the evening.

J.P. Arencibia got off to a hot start for Toronto in his 2011 debut.

With the impact of the offense and Romero’s superb pitching performance the Jays bullpen may have been lost in the spotlight. The new look bullpen was lights out. Casey Janssen worked a clean two thirds of an inning which featured two athletically defensive plays from the right-hander, helping his own cause. Jason Frasor pitched a scoreless inning of work in the eighth and off-season acquisition Carlos Villanueva looked extremely comfortable in his new home working a clean ninth, striking out Danny Valencia to win the ball game.

Overall, the Jays could not have gotten off to a better start to the 2011 season, absolutely dominating a tough Twins team from the get-go and from every aspect of the ball game. The Jays used a combination of power, speed and pitching spread across a very durable line-up to take home the victory; surely manager Farrell was pleased with that accomplishment.

Toronto will continue to host Minnesota tomorrow as the highly anticipated season debut for young pitcher Kyle Drabek will occur with the Twins sending the talented left arm of Francisco Liriano to the mound for the start. The game will begin at 1:07pm EST.

For those fans that may have missed the announcement today, the Blue Jays declined to exercise three option years on Aaron Hill’s current contract. Toronto had until today to decide on if they were going to exercise the option which would have kept Hill in Toronto for three years at $26 million. This means that Toronto is left with the ability to exercise a one or two year option on Hill at $8 million annually. The move was expected after Hill struggled in 2010 hitting .205 with 26HR, 68RBI and an OBP of .271.

Friday April 1st 2011 is Opening Day for the Toronto Blue Jays and fans everywhere have it marked on their calendars. The team is playing well in spring training under new manager John Farrell while introducing their up and coming talent to the atmosphere of playing with Major League ball players.

Excitement for the new season is high due to the fact that the team finally has a plan in place under general manager Alex Anthopoulos and thus far the plan is being followed. New faces are in abundance for the Jays at spring camp. With the new players in camp comes an added sense of interest as people watching the team want to see what these new acquisitions bring to the field.

One thing that is never set, even this close to Opening Day, is a baseball team’s finalized roster and that is no different for Toronto. However, Toronto did not expect that projected number two starter Brandon Morrow would not be one of the members of that roster. Morrow, who has easily been Toronto’s best starter throughout the spring (2-0, 0.75ERA, 12IP, 16K) will miss the start of the regular season with inflammation in the flexor muscle of his right elbow. The right-hander felt some discomfort in his elbow during a bullpen session on Sunday and was sent for an MRI examination on Monday. The exam showed the inflammation and despite Morrow telling the Jays he would be able to pitch in his scheduled start to begin the season the team decided to be cautious. Morrow was put on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22nd, which means the 26-year old will only miss one start. The news is certainly a setback for Toronto, but thankfully the end result is as minor as it is.

What does this mean for the Jays starting rotation come Opening Day? It means that Jo-Jo Reyes, Kyle Drabek and Jesse Litsch will all secure a spot on the team out of spring camp. The three players were battling it out for the final two spots in the rotation with Reyes scheduled to start tonight against the Yankees; a start that was expected to be the determining factor behind the finalized 2011 rotation to being the year. Reyes pitched effectively over six plus innings of work keeping Yankee hitters off-balance with a collection of fastballs, sinkers and changeups. The start is a very positive sign for Toronto.

With the loss of Morrow Farrell has announced that Ricky Romero will get the starting nod on Opening Day with Drabek in the number two spot, followed by Brett Cecil, Reyes and Litsch.

Another piece of bad news that arrived in Jays land was the announcement yesterday that potential closer Frank Francisco, the piece that came over from Texas in the Mike Napoli deal, will likely miss the beginning of the season with tightness in his right pectoral muscle as well as inflammation in his right biceps muscle.

The 31-year old underwent an MRI last Friday which deemed him free of any injury, but when he felt discomfort afterwards during a bullpen session the team sent the right-hander to see specialist Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. Andrews’ diagnosis was different from Francisco’s initial MRI, so the team will move cautiously with their potential closer, similar to the path they are taking with Morrow. He is scheduled to begin a throwing program on Sunday and it is likely he will not be available Opening Day. The assumption is that Jon Rauch will move into the temporary role of closer with Francisco out of action.

Another one of Toronto’s off-season free-agent acquisitions Octavio Dotel may be absent from the Opening Day roster as well. Dotel suffered a hamstring injury on March 8th which has limited the 37-year old to just three appearances this spring. The right-hander from the Dominican Republic did make a minor-league appearance yesterday striking out two in a scoreless inning of work, but his availability for the season opener in questionable.

With the potential absence of both Francisco and Dotel this could leave the door open for players such as David Purcey and Marc Rzepczynski to make the team out of spring camp.

The unexpected injuries to Morrow, Francisco and Dotel are all big losses for the Jays, but thankfully the team has the depth needed to overcome the losses. The added depth is another reason to admire how Anthopoulos is rebuilding the franchise as the future for the Blue Jays continues to look bright.

The Toronto Blue Jays came into the 2011 Spring Training preseason with a number of question marks regarding the team. Will Jose Bautista continue his offensive dominance from 2010? Will Adam Lind and Aaron Hill rebound from poor 2010 seasons? Will J.P. Arencibia prove to be the teams starting catcher? After the trade of last seasons number one pitcher Shaun Marcum to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospect Brett Lawrie one major question that many people did not know the answer to was who would claim the final two spots in the starting rotation.

Throughout the spring Ricky Romero was named the Jays Opening Day starter with Brett Cecil and Brandon Morrow etched as the number two and three starters. One problem the Jays had coming into spring is a problem most teams would love. That problem was the franchise’s pitching depth. Pitchers Kyle Drabek, Marc Rzepczynski, Jesse Litsch, Scott Richmond, Jo-Jo Reyes and Zach Stewart all arrived in camp with a chance at beginning the year as the number four and five starters in the rotation.

Stewart was recently sent to minor-league camp which took his name out of the running, although his future is a very bright one. Richmond has been moved into the competition for a chance in Toronto’s bullpen after not pitching well in a starting role throughout spring and today the Jays announced that Rzepczynski has also been taken out of the running for the final two spots.

With Drabek, Litsch and Reyes pitching exceptional this spring Rzepczynski’s performance in a starting role did not match up, which made the decision to move him into consideration for a bullpen role that much easier. The left-hander also has experience coming out of the bullpen for the Jays which means he would have a better chance of making the club in this manner. The situation is similar to the way fellow Jay David Purcey was handled last season.

Many other factors could have made up manager John Farrell and general manager Alex Anthopoulos’ minds with today’s decision. Reyes is out of options, which means that he would have to pass through waivers if he did not make the big league squad, making it very likely that he would be picked up by another team. Litsch has shown past success in Toronto’s rotation prior to an injury that sidelined him for close to a year and Drabek is the teams number one pitching prospect and held his own in a late season call-up last season while also continuing to pitch well this spring.

Upon receiving the news that he would no longer be in consideration for a starting role for the big league team Rzepczynski was given the option of beginning the season as a starter for Triple-A Las Vegas or to attempt the conversion into a reliever, coming out of Toronto’s bullpen. The choice was obvious as the big league playing time was more important to the 25-year old.

This now leaves the competition for the final two rotation spots to three. Drabek is 2-0 this spring with an earned run average of 3.27 in two starts, allowing thirteen hits in eleven innings pitched, walking one and striking out nine. If the 23-year old right hander makes the team out of camp he will make the jump directly from Double-A New Hampshire to the big leagues, but many in the baseball world are in agreement that the son of former Cy Young award winner Doug Drabek is ready for the show.

Litsch, a former 13 game winner in 2008 seems to finally be pitching at 100% strength. The right-hander came back from Tommy John surgery earlier then most anticipated last season which could have led to his struggles on the mound. The 26-year old was 1-5 with an ERA of 5.79 in nine starts. Aside from one poor outing this spring against the Phillies on March 15th Litsch has been exceptional posting a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 3.12 in four starts, allowing 17 hits over 17.1IP, walking 3 and striking out 17. Litsch may indeed be the front-runner for a rotation spot with his past experience, current success as well as being the closest thing to a veteran in a young rotation for the Jays.

Jesse Litsch looks to be rounding into form this spring. Will it earn him a rotation spot on the 2011 Blue Jays?

The wild-card for Toronto is Reyes. With Reyes out of options the team cannot send the left-hander to the minors without first passing him through waivers and he will most certainly be claimed. The team does not want to give up on the talented arm of the 26-year old and his current spring has made the decision even tougher. Reyes has impressed going 1-1 with an ERA of 3.46 in two starts. He has only allowed six hits in 13 innings pitched. Reyes has one more big start against the Yankees left in spring which could end up being the decision maker as far as his tenure in a Blue Jays uniform is concerned.

With the way Litsch pitched today against the Minnesota Twins (5.1IP, 3H, 0ER 7K) he may have cemented a rotation spot for himself which leaves Drabek and Reyes to battle out for the final spot.

If the Jays could possibly find a suitor for Reyes in a trade situation the team’s choice should be an easy one handing the two rotation spots to Litsch and Drabek respectively, but if not what path will the team take?

Demoting Drabek may not be a popular decision, but it will save Reyes from possibly being claimed on waivers, but is Drabek really ready having only three MLB starts under his belt?

In this writer’s opinion the decision will be made based on how Reyes performs against the Yankees on Wednesday so Blue Jays fans will be watching closely as the teams Opening Day rotation could be based solely on the start.

Less then one week ago former Angels slugger Garret Anderson announced his retirement from baseball to the entire world. The Anderson announcement came after outfielders Jody Gerut and Gary Sheffield also decided to walk away from the game. You can add the name Gregg Zaun to the list of players who have decided to hang up their cleats prior to the 2011 season.

The 39-year old catcher, who has spent 16 seasons in Major League Baseball, called it quits today. Zaun was in the middle of competing for the back-up catching position in San Diego when he made the decision. He was signed to a minor-league contract in the off-season and was the favourite to mentor Nick Hundley behind the dish for the Padres.

Yesterday, the switch-hitting Zaun played against the Oakland Athletics going 0-2 in the process. After the contest was complete he walked into manager Bud Black’s office and officially announced his retirement. The decision had a great deal to do with his surgically repaired right shoulder that was injured last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. The shoulder was in working form, but the endurance and stamina was not there for the veteran.

“After three innings yesterday, I was totally gassed. The amount of time for me to get ready to play at a high level, it just saps the fun out of it” stated Zaun.

The catcher was well-travelled in his career spending time with the Baltimore Orioles on two occasions as well as the Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays & Brewers; winning a World Series ring with the Marlins in ’97.

He is the owner of a .252 career batting average to go along with 88HR & 446RBI. His best years in the big leagues came with the Blue Jays from 2005-2007 where he combined to hit 33HR & 153RBI across three seasons, while getting on-base at a fairly decent clip and playing well behind the plate.

The nephew of former ball player Rick Dempsey will now turn to broadcasting. He has experience with Toronto sports station Sportsnet covering the baseball playoffs on more then one occasion and should not have a difficult time finding a position.

Exactly one day after top prospect Brett Lawrie smashed a three run home run to defeat the Detroit Tigers by a score of 7-4 the Toronto Blue Jays continued their 2011 spring today against the Pittsburgh Pirates at McKechnie Park in Bradenton, Florida.

Ricky Romero was on the mound for Toronto, hoping that he could put together a more solid pitching effort than in his first spring outing where he allowed four earned runs on five hits, walking two in two and a third innings of work on March 1st against the Tigers.

Romero did just that. The left-hander was exceptional in four innings of work, allowing one hit while walking two hitters in a scoreless outing, which included six strikeouts. In this outing the California native just did his thing concentrating on pitching a solid game as opposed to working on one exact tool. In his first outing against the Tigers Romero was focussed on working a sinker pitch into his repertoire which could have been the reason behind the poor outing.

He also received offensive help from his team-mates who jumped on Pirates starter James McDonald early. The Jays scored four runs, two earned, off the right-hander as he could not complete his scheduled three innings of work.

After a two-run inning to open up the game Toronto scored another two runs in the third. The inning was kept alive by a throwing error from young shortstop Corey Wimberly. The Jays added one more run in the top of the fifth inning off of reliever Chris Resop to push the score to 5-0, the eventual final on the day.

Third baseman Jose Bautista had an excellent day at the plate going 3-3 with an RBI, two runs scored and two doubles. Outfielder Eric Thames continued to play well adding two RBI’s to his spring total, while Travis Snider reached base twice and Yunel Escobar pushed his spring batting average to .471 after he recorded two more hits and scored a run. Not everyone had an exceptional day at the plate. Edwin Encarnacion struck our four times in four plate appearances leaving seven men on base in the process and J.P. Arencibia continued a poor spring at the plate going 0-3 with a strikeout, dropping his average to .056.

The Jays also managed to get some work for pitchers Jon Rauch, Frank Francisco, Carlos Villanueva and Zach Stewart. Rauch pitched well striking out one and allowed a walk in a clean inning of work. Francisco got himself into some trouble loading the bases after a double to Pedro Ciriaco, a walk to Andrew McCutchen and a single to Pedro Alvarez, but Matt Diaz helped him out by grounding into an inning ending double play. Villanueva pitched another solid inning of work allowing no earned runs as he looked impressive once again and Zach Stewart finished out the game with two innings of work allowing one hit, walking two hitters and striking out five. Add on Romero’s performance to this group and the Toronto pitching staff was outstanding on the day shutting out the Pirates.

The Jays have an off-day on Monday before they visit the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05pm EST on Tuesday. Brandon Morrow, who pitched well in his first spring outing, gets the starting nod for Toronto.

After four consecutive losses to open the 2011 spring, two at the hands of the Detroit Tigers, followed by a loss to former Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay & the Philadelphia Phillies before another loss to the Tigers, the Toronto Blue Jays put up a one in the win column.

Brandon Morrow made his spring debut against the Tampa Bay Rays today and looked fantastic pitching three shutout innings, striking out four hitters. The hard-throwing right-hander faced eleven hitters, allowing two singles to Matt Joyce and Felipe Lopez. He used a change-up successfully while pitching to an unfamiliar face behind the plate in J.P. Arencibia. Jose Molina was Morrow’s exclusive catcher during most of the 2010 season. Blue Jays manager John Farrell was impressed with his young pitcher and had the following to say about him as well as using Arencibia in place of Molina:

“It was just good to see him go out and make some pitch selections on his own “

“Have some conversation between the innings and go out and execute a game plan. While there’s a certain comfort zone there, you don’t want to make it a security blanket for him, either”

The day was not a success for every Blue Jays pitcher, as off-season free agent acquisition Octavio Dotel struggled mightily in his appearance. The 37-year old Dominican allowed three earned runs on four hits, allowing two doubles to Ben Zobrist and Dan Johnson. The three run inning gave Tampa a 4-3 lead after Toronto scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning thanks in part to an Edwin Encarnacion two-run home run. Tampa added a run in the top of the fourth inning on a RBI single from Lopez.

Tampa starter David Price also had his struggles on the mound, allowing three earned runs on two hits, which included two hits, a wild pitch and a failed pick-off attempt at first base which saw his throw sail over the bag.

After Price exited the game Tampa used successful appearances from Jonah Bayliss, Wade Davis, Adam Russell, Chris Bootcheck and Brandon Gomes to cruise through six scoreless innings before the Jays battled back in the bottom of the ninth inning against Richard De Los Santos. The 26-year old righty blew the opportunity to close the door for the Rays, allowing two earned runs on four hits for the loss. Darin Mastroianni was crucial in the ninth for Toronto as he stole second base after a lead-off single then moved over to third on Jacob Marisnick’s sacrifice bunt, which also moved Ryan Budde to second after he walked. Jonathan Diaz hit a walk-off single to score the two runs for Toronto’s first win of the spring 5-4.

Missing in action was Toronto slugger Jose Bautista, who took the day off after experiencing tightness in his left quadriceps muscle. The injury is not severe and the team was merely taking precautionary measures with their star player. Bautista is off to a slow start offensively in spring going 0-5 with three strikeouts thus far.

Toronto will now play the Pittsburgh Pirates at 1:05pm EST tomorrow at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin. Brett Cecil will make his second start of the spring with pitchers Scott Richmond, Robert Ray, Carlos Villanueva and Jon Rauch all scheduled to make an appearance.

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The Toronto Blue Jays are officially set to kick off their 2011 Spring Training season this afternoon in Dunedin, Florida as they get set to battle the Detroit Tigers at 1:05pm EST.

The off-season saw an abundance of changes for the squad with a new manager coming aboard in John Farrell, who brought along some new coaching staff in former Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu as new bench coach, former Cy Young award winner Pat Hentgen as new bullpen coach & Torey Lovello as new first base coach.

The team also traded for speedy outfielder Rajai Davis and added bullpen pieces Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch & Frank Francisco via trade and free agency. Davis will likely hit lead-off sharing the outfield with Travis Snider and a combination of Juan Rivera and whoever wins the fourth outfield spot out of spring. Veteran speedsters Scott Podsednik & Corey Patterson both have a very good shot at earning that role. Adam Lind & Aaron Hill will both try to come back from disappointing seasons hoping to find their 2009 form when the pair were Toronto’s offensive stars. Lind will transition to first base with Lyle Overbay departing to the Pirates, so he faces a new challenge learning the position while also sharing the duties with Edwin Encarnacion, who will also be transitioning to the position from third base.

2010 All-Star catcher John Buck left for Florida on a big ticket contract which means the catching reigns have been handed over to top prospect J.P. Arencibia with veteran Jose Molina mentoring the young protégé and outfielder/DH Rivera, a former reliable piece of numerous AL West championship teams in Los Angeles will add some pop to the line-up after coming over in the blockbuster Vernon Wells trade. Speaking of Wells, this will be the first Spring in twelve years where Toronto fans will not see the Texan in a Blue Jays uniform after the team shipped him to the Angels, shedding payroll while losing the face of the franchise in the process.

Last season’s opening day starter and the veteran presence of the young 2010 Blue Jays starting staff Shaun Marcum was traded to Milwaukee for highly touted prospect Brett Lawrie which leaves Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil & Brandon Morrow as the front three of what is a talented, but inexperienced starting rotation. Expect Kyle Drabek, Marc Rzepczynski, Scott Richmond, Brad Mills & Zach Stewart to all compete for the final two spots in the rotation.

Jose Bautista, inked to a new long-term deal in recent weeks comes into 2011 with high expectations after setting the franchise home run record last year finishing fourth in AL MVP voting after a dominating season. The Blue Jays witnessed major power and production from his bat while he played one of the best defensive right fields in the league. Bautista will switch over to third base and should be able to handle the change since he has past experience at the position.

The expectaions are high for slugger Jose Bautista after his impressive 2010 season and new long-term contract.

The abundance of changes comes after Toronto surprisingly won 85 games last season, but general manager Alex Anthopoulos is sticking to his plan of building a strong foundation through scouting, development and acquiring young, controllable players to aid in the franchise’s future. The Blue Jays farm system has drastically improved since the new GM came aboard and he is not finished with Toronto acquiring numerous draft picks for players who left for free agency this off-season.

One thing that is for sure within the Toronto fan base is that the excitement about a new baseball season is finally back. The city is excited about the new look, the new players, the new team.

It all begins today in Dunedin as the 2011 Spring Training season officially gets underway with Brett Cecil getting the starting nod today against the Tigers Phil Coke. Expect Blue Jays pitchers Scott Richmond, David Purcey, Wil Ledezma, Jess Carlson, Mike Hinckley & Luis Perez to all get some work in and expect the Jays to play some of the most exciting baseball they have in years as they add the element of speed to their already potent long ball approach.

Just four days after being acquired along with outfielder Juan Rivera in exchange for Vernon Wells, catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli is on the move yet again, having never suited up for the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays announced today that the power hitting Napoli was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for right-handed reliever Frank Francisco and cash considerations.

Francisco was the Rangers closer in 2009 before handing the role over to youngster Neftali Feliz last season. The 31-year old native of the Dominican Republic will compete with off-season acquisitions Octavio Dotel & Jon Rauch for the vacant closer’s role as per a conference call with Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. Anthopoulos stated the following about Francisco and the trade:

“He has a power arm with a plus fastball, plus slider,”

”He had experience closing in a very tough park to pitch in with 25 saves. We’ve always admired him from afar, and we think he has tremendous ability and obviously the ability to pitch in a lot of roles.”

“I’ve seen a lot of seasons spiral out of control because of a weak bullpen,”

“Having depth in that bullpen is going to be vital for us. Knowing that we’ll be seven deep and there will be a good competition should be very reassuring to our starters and ultimately should allow us to win the games we’re supposed to win”

Francisco owns career numbers of 17-15 with an earned run average of 3.75 with 32 saves in 283.1 innings pitched across six Major League seasons, all with the Rangers. His best season to date came in 2009 in a closing role when he earned a record of 2-3 with an ERA of 3.83 with 25 saves in 49.1IP, striking out 57.

The trade of Napoli is deemed as surprising to some, but the Jays seem to be confident that J.P. Arencibia is ready to take over the everyday job and currently have mentor Jose Molina as an insurance policy in case that plan does not work out. The addition of Francisco gives the Jays another veteran arm that has proven he can be successful in a number of bullpen roles.

With Francisco, Rauch & Dotel being added to the 2011 bullpen the Jays may in fact have a better pen then last season, which will help the team’s young starting pitching staff.

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Vernon Wells, the proprietor of what is labelled as one of the worst contracts in baseball history, may finally be moved by the Toronto Blue Jays organization in a reported deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Fox Sports baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal broke the news that Wells will be on the move to the Angels with Toronto receiving catcher Mike Napoli & outfielder Juan Rivera in return. Mike Wilner of the Fan 590 radio in Toronto confirms the same deal. Wells has reportedly waived his no-trade clause and underwent a physical in Anaheim earlier today.

If the deal is indeed completed it will certainly be yet another outstanding personnel move pulled off by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who is certainly earning a name for himself cleaning up the mess that was left behind when previous general manager J.P. Ricciardi was let go by the franchise.

Wells, a life-long Blue Jay is signed through 2014 owning a contract worth a ridiculous $126 million over seven years.

Here is the best news about this deal taking place for Toronto; the most expensive years of the current contract begin this season with the outfielder set to make $23 million proceeded by earnings of $21 million in each of 2012, 2013 and 2014. Surely the Jays will send some kind of financial compensation the Angels way in the deal, but it is guaranteed that the move will save Toronto a large sum of money in the long run, as well as rid themselves of an underachieving and aging player. Wells just turned 32.

The Angels plan on moving outfielder Torii Hunter to right field, so the need for a center fielder is there and they will free up an outfield spot for Wells with Rivera coming the Jays way. The Angels also needed to free up a spot on their Major League depth chart at the catching position hence the trade of Napoli. This will allow for Jeff Mathis and highly-touted prospect Hank Conger to take over behind the plate.

Vernon Wells had his ups and downs in Toronto, unfortunately he may be remembered for his downs thanks to his contract.

Although the Angels have added a need, they may in fact be the losers in the trade. Poor batting average aside, Napoli alone produced at almost the same offensive level as Wells last season hitting .238 with 26HR & 68RBI while Wells hit .273 with 31HR & 88RBI. Napoli earned $3.6 million as opposed to Wells’  $12.5 million in 2010. Add on Rivera ( set to earn a salary of $5.25 million in 2011) with his .252 average with 15HR & 52RBI and the deal could be a steal for Toronto. It will give the team two bats that can produce in the line-up on an everyday basis, insurance at the catching position in case J.P. Arencibia does not show well out of Spring Training, allows the team to DH Rivera or use him as an extra outfielder in case they choose to use Jose Bautista at third base and saves the team money in the long run as they look towards their future.

The deal provides more flexibility in so many ways for the Jays, most notably providing more finances to use towards their budding farm system which has been drastically improved by Anthopoulos and his scouting and player development teams. The extra finances could also be used to go above slot on players taken in this season’s upcoming entry draft, which Toronto holds an abundance of picks in.

In my opinion Anthopoulos is proving himself as one of the savviest general managers in baseball, despite only owning the position for a little over a season. What most in the baseball world thought impossible he has pulled off with one single deal, if in fact the deal is legitimate and goes through as reported.

Although Wells was loved by the fan base for the majority of his career in Toronto and is a three-time All-Star as well as three-time Gold Glove winner the contract may have killed any hope of him being remembered as one of the great Blue Jays in the minds of the Toronto faithful. He may be in the upper echelon as far as team statistics are concerned, but the bitter taste he left in the fan’s mouths during underachieving seasons after the contract was signed may be too much for some to swallow when considering him as an all-time Toronto great. He did battle numerous injuries while producing at a reasonably high level, but it was obviously not enough to warrant the contract that he was handed in 2006 by Ricciardi.

The Blue Jays will certainly remember Wells and his many accomplishments for the team, but what could be remembered more was the below-average play that came after the contract was signed, pushing him in the negative light of the baseball world.