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.