Mark Shapiro was not welcomed with open arms when he officially began his presidency with the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this offseason. 

Many believe his arrival directly led to Alex Anthopoulos, the beloved general manager who built the first playoff team in Toronto since 1993, leaving the organization shortly after the team was eliminated by the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series.  

Despite the backlash and lack of support, Shapiro had no choice but to put his head down and try to make decisions that will keep the Blues Jays a playoff contender for 2016.

Let's take a look at what the Jays have done so far this winter with their new front office and some of the questions that still need to be answered before Opening Day.

 

Offseason Timeline

November 2 - Blue Jays introduce Shapiro as new president and chief executive officer. The former Cleveland Indians executive was peppered with questions about the departure of Anthopoulos and the rumours that Shapiro scolded the Montreal native for his trade deadline moves in July.

"A lot has been written the past week obviously, most of it speculation, second-hand, a lot of it untrue," Shapiro said. "All that Alex communicated was honest and forthright.

"Not the transition that I originally expected. Not the opening press conference that I had envisioned."

November 13 - The Blue Jays re-signed starting pitcher Marco Estrada to a two-year, $26 million contract. Estrada put up career numbers in 2015 in a contract year, including a terrific performance in Game 5 of the ALCS, and will be a part of the Jays' starting rotation this season.

November 20 - Toronto traded relief pitcher Liam Hendriks to the Oakland Athletics for right-handed pitcher Jesse Chavez. Chavez, 32, could either be a bottom of the rotation starter or possibly a long-man for the Jays in their bullpen in 2016. He is headed to arbitration, asking for a reported $4 million while the Jays have countered with $3.6 million.

November 27 - Blue Jays signed free-agent pitcher J.A. Happ to three-year, $36 million deal. Happ, 33, was a Blue Jay for three years before he was traded to the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2015 season for Canadian outfielder Michael Saunders. The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired him at the trade deadline and was strong down the stretch, posting a 7-2 record with a 1.85 ERA. The lefty will be in the Jays' 2016 starting five.

December 1 - David Price, the Jays ace for the last two months of the season, signed a massive seven-year, $217 million contract with the division rivals Boston Red Sox. According to TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead, the Blue Jays did not make a contract offer to Price.

December 2 - The team re-signed free-agent catcher Josh Thole. Currently Thole, who is known for being R.A. Dickey's personal catcher, is the No. 2 catcher on the Jays' depth chart after Dioner Navarro signed a deal with the Chicago White Sox. 

December 3 - Shapiro and the Jays hired Ross Atkins as the team's new general manager and executive vice-president of baseball operations. The 42-year-old worked with Shapiro in Cleveland for the past 15 years as an executive. 

December 11 - Toronto re-signed free-agent second baseman Darwin Barney.

December 18 - Blue Jays signed LHP Pat McCoy, RHP Roberto Hernandez, RHP Brad Penny, RHP Scott Copeland and LHP Wade LeBlanc to minor league contracts. They also claimed outfielder Junior Lake off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles. 

January 5 - Jays acquired RHP Arnold Leon from Athletics. 

January 8 - The new regime made their first big time move, sending left-fielder Ben Revere, who was acquired by Anthopoulos at the deadline, to the Washington Nationals for relief pitcher Drew Storen. The 29-year-old posted a 2-2 record with a 3.44 ERA and 29 saves over 55 innings pitched for the Nats in 2015.

January 15 - The Blue Jays avoided arbitration with relief pitcher Storen ($8.375M), relief pitcher Brett Cecil ($3.8M), outfielder Saunders ($2.9M), relief pitcher Steve Delabar ($835,000), relief pitcher Aaron Loup ($1.05M) and pitcher Drew Hutchison ($2.20M). Toronto did not agree to terms with MVP third-baseman Josh Donaldson and is headed to arbitration. Donaldson is asking for $11.8 million in arbitration, according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman. The Jays countered with $11.35 million. 

 

Depth Chart

Catcher

1 - Russell Martin 
2 - Josh Thole

Possible Question Marks: Martin is one of the best catchers in the game and will get plenty of action behind the plate this season, but Thole is definitely a downgrade form Navarro. The Jays have veteran catcher Humberto Quintero in the system, but might still be looking for a better backup. 

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First Base

1 - Chris Colabello
2 - Justin Smoak
3 - Edwin Encarnacion

Possible Question Marks: Colabello broke out in 2015 and had a surprising successful season with the Jays, hitting .321 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs. It will be interesting to see if the 32-year-old can put up similar numbers this season. Smoak will likely play a backup role again.

Second Base

1 - Ryan Goins 
2 - Darwin Barney
3 - Devon Travis

Possible Question Marks: Travis will likely take over the everyday duties once he returns from his recovery from shoulder surgery, but that won't be until May at the earliest. Defensive specialist Goins will be the main man to start the season and the Jays are hoping he plays like he did in the stretch last season. 

Third Base

1 - Josh Donaldson
2 - Darwin Barney

Possible Question Marks: The reigning MVP will return to the hot corner for the Jays, but the results of his upcoming arbitration hearing, the second-year in a row he has gone through this process with the Jays, might affect his mood going into Spring Training.  

Shortstop

1 - Troy Tulowitzki
2 - Ryan Goins
3 - Darwin Barney

Possible Question Marks: Like Donaldson, Tulo is a lock to play short, but the Jays are hoping the 31-year-old is primed for a big season after missing time with a back injury last season. 

Left Field

1 - Michael Saunders
2 - Dalton Pompey
3 - Ezequiel Carrera

Possible Question Marks: With Ben Revere gone, the stating left field job is up for grabs come Spring Training. Saunders, who missed all but nine games in 2015, is listed as the No. 1 one guy on the team's website, but fellow Canadian Pompey will have the chance to win the role during spring ball. "I think I'm going to take it a little differently this year," said Pompey Tuesday during the Jays' Winter Tour. "I remember last year I was standing here and talking about competing for the centre-field job, now there's another opening here (left-field). I'm just going to focus on what I need to do to be successful in terms of helping the team." The loss of Revere will mean the Jays will need a new leadoff man as well, and if the speedy Pompey is the man in left, he could be a candidate to fill the vacant position at the top of the lineup.

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Centre Field

1 - Kevin Pillar
2 - Dalton Pompey 
3 - Ezequiel Carrera

Possible Question Marks: After a few rumours concerning Pillar being moved for a starting pitcher swirled earlier this offseason, it looks like the defensive standout will stay in Toronto for the foreseeable future. Like a few other Jays who broke out in their memorable 2015 campaign, Pillar will have pressure on him to put together another productive season in 2016.

Right Field

1 - Jose Bautista
2 - Ezequiel Carrera

Possible Question Marks: Jose Bautista will be the Jays' right fielder for an eighth consecutive year, but will be a free-agent at season's end if an extension is not completed. The contract of Game 5's bat-flipping hero should garner plenty of questions in 2016 and could lead to trade rumours if the Jays start to slide in the wrong direction.   

Designated Hitter

1 - Edwin Encarnacion
2 - Chris Colabello

Possible Question Marks: Encarnacion is in the same boat as his countryman Bautista and will likely have to face the same questions throughout the season which could become a distraction. 

Starting Rotation

1 - Marcus Stroman
2 - Marco Estrada
3 - R.A. Dickey
4 - Aaron Sanchez/Roberto Osuna 
5 - J.A. Happ
6 - Jesse Chavez
7 - Drew Hutchison

Possible Question Marks: With Price out of the picture, Stroman is now the undisputed ace in Toronto. If he avoids injury, 2016 will be Stroman's first full year in the Majors. Following the 24-year-old, Estrada, Dickey and Happ will likely be in the starting five. The question is, will one (or two) of last season's young relievers make the move to a starter this season? The 23-year-old Sanchez is the most likely candidate. "I think that [being a starter] has always been my idea," said Sanchez Tuesday during the Jays' Winter Tour. "I'm excited. I was telling someone earlier, regardless, if you throw the four of us [Sanchez, Cecil, Storen, Osuna] out of the pen, that's pretty lethal. And if I get to start that's even better." Stroman concurs. "100 per cent. Everything we did this year was for that. You don't work out twice a day for two months for him to be a reliever. He's 100 per cent ready to go out there for seven, eight or nine innings every five days," explained Stroman. 

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Bullpen

1 - Drew Storen
2 - Roberto Osuna
3 - Brett Cecil
4 - Aaron Sanchez
5 - Aaron Loup
6 - Ryan Tepera
7 - Bo Schultz
8 - Jesse Chavez/Drew Hutchison

Possible Question Marks: With the addition of Storen, the Jays' bullpen looks pretty sharp on paper. With two closers now on the roster and the possibility of Sanchez headed to the rotation there are plenty of questions to be answered during spring training, namely who pitches when through the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.