The Blue Jays open up their Canada Day weekend series against the AL Central Division leaders.

Sean Reid-Foley was awesome in Dunedin.

Devon Travis made his debut for the season at AAA and did not disappoint. Angel Perdomo was less impressive than previous outings, but is still in the conversation for best pitching prospect in the organization.

We obviously need one. Colabello is eligible to return around the All-Star Break, although he won't be eligible to play in any 2016 post-season games.

So what will happen? What should happen?

Decision day is fast approaching for the Blue Jays. Today the biggest question was answered, Aaron Sanchez was named the number five starter. Gavin Floyd and Jesse Chavez will be in the bullpen and Drew Hutchison has been optioned to Buffalo. For Sanchez, his hard work over the winter paid off with his selection. For Hutchison, his hard work over the winter did not pay off as he has been dispatched. The Hutchison decision shows that spring training often does not change pre-conceived ideas. Since January everyone has been talking about Hutch heading to Buffalo but he came into camp and pitched very well. Credit to him but it changed nothing. It is reassuring that there is a good sixth starter in Buffalo when the need arrives.

The stories out of Florida suggest that Gibbons wanted Sanchez in the rotation. Presumably Floyd's previous employers, Atkins and Shapiro, were on the other side of the discussion. Sanchez will not be a starter for a full 32 starts, he will have to go to the bullpen at some stage if he remains uninjured.

This time it's for real.

Tonight season ticket holders and other invitees will be at the Rogers Centre for the annual state of the franchise event which has been re-branded as "The Leadoff". Expect Mark Shapiro, Ross Atkins and John Gibbons to speak. In previous years the front office would answer some carefully selected and preapproved questions. I expect many of the questions this year will be about whether the Jays will re-sign Jose Bautista and EE. And the answer will be we would like to but it takes two sides to make a deal and we won't break the bank for any player, or words to that effect. I also expect some questions around the roles for Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna this year. I don;t feel confident we will get a straight answer to that.

With the year almost at an end, I thought this was as good a time as any to revisit the magic that came before.

The winter meetings start today and run through the rule 5 draft on Thursday. Discuss all the blockbuster action here. Also Fangraphs has released the ZiPS projections for the 2016 Jays.

For 2016 I think we all want to see the Jays with guys at every position who could be the best in the game at that position. Especially with the pitching issues. So where do we see it and where could the Jays use a Tulo upgrade?

So a few things have happened...

Not a shock to anyone, but David Price is one of 3 finalists for the Cy Young and Josh Donaldson is one of the top 3 for MVP.

Traditional winter activities have always included arguing about the Hall of Fame.

The new boss at his introductory presser. Items of interest: 1) Tony LaCava is the interim GM; 2) he's not wedded to the five-year limit, says he can envisage longer deals for a player in the right circumstances. Doesn't believe in absolutes.

Said all the right things, as you'd expect from an experienced pro, and expressed a lot of enthusiasm.

Blood on the carpet, mud on the mattress
Waking up with that American sadness
Afternoon matinee, midnight madness
Come on everybody, let's get on with the business