This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Blue Jays’ front-facing upgrades will, understandably, garner most of the attention during spring training. But the team also made a series of behind-the-scenes changes that will have a major bearing on the franchise’s medium-to-long-term trajectory.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the homegrown face of the Toronto Blue Jays, is set to become a free agent this fall unless he signs a contract extension. Other question marks hover over the team, which opened spring training on Thursday in Florida.

The Toronto Blue Jays are in danger of sending the wrong message to a superstar slugger if they refuse to meet his contract expectations.

Question marks hover over the Toronto Blue Jays as the team kicks off spring training Thursday when pitchers and catchers hold their first official workout at the club's player development complex.