DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Blue Jays' decision-makers are careful to include Gustavo Chacin's name when asked about candidates for the rotation's lone vacant spot. But realistically, the pitcher looks like a long shot to break camp with Toronto.

On Sunday, after Chacin turned up at the Bobby Mattick Training Center for the first time this spring, general manager J.P. Ricciardi said the left-hander might be a little behind schedule in terms of coming back from a shoulder injury suffered last season.

Chacin threw off a mound for the first time in months on Sunday, and the reports were positive following his performance. Even so, the fifth-starter job is more likely to fall to Casey Janssen or Jesse Litsch, while Chacin could wind up with Triple-A Syracuse to open the season.

"Maybe Chacin a little bit," said Ricciardi, when asked if any players returning from injury were experiencing slower recoveries. "But not to the point where by the end of Spring Training he can't be where he's supposed to be."

By that point, though, it might be too late for Chacin to win a spot on the Opening Day roster. Ricciardi noted that the 27-year-old Chacin has options remaining, so the Venezuelan pitcher could be sent to Triple-A without needing to pass through waivers beforehand.

Chacin, who is 25-15 in 58 career starts with Toronto, will do his best to avoid that scenario, and manager John Gibbons and Ricciardi both seemed pleased by his initial bullpen session. In August, Chacin had season-ending surgery on his left shoulder -- one of various injuries that have limited him to 22 starts in the past two seasons.

"He looked very good," Gibbons said. "He looked loose. That's one thing you worry about with those guys coming off injuries -- whether they're a little tight or a little tentative. He wasn't doing any of that."

Ricciardi wouldn't go as far as saying that Chacin was trailing Janssen and Litsch in his bid to make the rotation. Given the fact that Chacin only made five appearances last season and his mound session on Sunday was the first in months, it appears safe to believe he has a harder road ahead than his competitors.

"I wouldn't say he's behind the other guys," Ricciardi said. "But he hasn't really been on a mound in a competitive situation in about five or six months. So we're going to take it easy with him and kind of go at his pace."

Hair apparent: The stripe of hair atop Alex Rios' head is easy to spot, and it's quickly becoming one of the most discussed topics in camp. Toronto's right fielder showed up with a short mohawk -- an idea spawned after a night out with friends over the offseason in Puerto Rico.

"We started talking about mohawks and stuff like that," said Rios, who smiled when asked if certain adult beverages were involved. "I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to grow one.' I have a friend who has one, but he has good hair. Mine is all kind of nappy. Mine's a bootleg one."

The Jays won't care what Rios does with his hair this season, as long as he continues to put on the type of show that he did during batting practice on Sunday. Rios launched one baseball off the top of a tree over the center-field wall and sent another bouncing off the roof of a house beyond the fence in left.

"We shortened the fences out there," Ricciardi joked. "When you guys leave, we're going to move them back."

The Jays are still discussing a multiyear extension with Rios' agent, and the outfielder said he'd prefer to have the deal completed before the season begins. Likewise, Ricciardi said he hopes to have Rios locked up with a long-term contract before Opening Day.

"They've been talking a little bit," Rios said. "But if it gets done before the season starts, I guess that's better."

Leading off: Rios' powerful bat could serve as a potent weapon in the third spot of the Blue Jays' lineup, but Ricciardi and Gibbons both acknowledged on Sunday that the team has considered slotting the outfielder into the leadoff slot again.

"That's something we've tossed around," Gibbons said.

The Jays are currently leaning toward having new shortstop David Eckstein lead off on a full-time basis, but that doesn't mean other options haven't been discussed. If Rios, who had 241 at-bats as the No. 1 hitter last season, spent time as the leadoff hitter this year, Eckstein would likely drop to the second hole.

"Eckstein can bat first, we're comfortable with that," Ricciardi said. "But if we think he can handle the bat well enough where he could bat second, and we could do some things with him there, obviously, we have that flexibility."

Gibbons echoed Ricciardi's comments.

"Eckstein would be a perfect No. 2-type guy," Gibbons said. "He takes a lot of pitches and can pound that right side at will. But [Rios], I think he's on the verge of being a big RBI guy, too. Truthfully, we've thrown [a lot of ideas] around."

Ready to go: Blue Jays first baseman Lyle Overbay arrived at Spring Training on Sunday and wasted no time, taking part in batting practice and fielding drills. Ricciardi indicated that there are no restrictions with Overbay, who is returning from an injury to his right hand that led to two surgeries last season.

Quotable: "I don't know. I'm scared of when I take it off that I'm going to have the mark from where the sun wasn't going through. [My head] is going to be all tan and the middle is going to be not that tan." -- Rios, on whether he plans on keeping his mohawk