The Marlins have discussed the possibility of signing Prince Fielder and some of their front office executives like the idea of pursuing the 27-year-old free agent, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. However, Miami is more active in its pursuit of Albert Pujols and other top free agents. The latest:
- The Marlins are putting an all-out press on Jose Reyes and hope to sign him before next week's Winter Meetings, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (Twitter link).
- However, ESPN.com's Jayson Stark hears that the Marlins have made so little headway with Reyes that they could make a push for Aramis Ramirez (Twitter links). Agent Paul Kinzer acknowledges he has had some discussions with the Marlins, but says talks are now becoming serious with four teams.
- The biggest obstacle preventing Mark Buehrle from signing in Miami is the team's reluctance to give him a no-trade clause, according to Rosenthal. The holdup in the talks may push the Marlins to pursue another free agent lefty, C.J. Wilson. The Rangers and Angels are also in the mix for Wilson, while the Nationals like both Wilson and Buehrle. Though Buehrle prefers the Midwest, he'd be happy to join former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen in the National League, Rosenthal reports.
Would it be possible for them to sign two of the three mentioned? I really like how agressive they’re being. Not a Marlins fan, but finally I’m impressed with them.
Wow the Marlins are really going all in this offseason. Good for them. I’m sure Ozzie has a lot to do with this.
If I were Buerhle, then I would want a NTC too. It would suck to get shipped out in the periodic unloading sessions following a Marlins world series run.
The marlins and world series just don’t fit next year.
Hater.
There won’t be any periodic unloading sessions with their new ballpark. The times are a changin. Get on board.
If your current star (HanRam) isn’t open to a position change, then you need to build around that. Get ARam. Not Reyes. Sign Aramis and CJ Wilson. That’s just my opinion for them.
With ARam in the lineup you can still have a productive 1-2 with Bonfacio/Coghlan and Infante. Then a scary 3-4-5-6-7 with H2R, Stanton, Ramirez, Lomo, and Sanchez
Yikes. I’m a Braves fan and that is scary.
whats really scary is the left side of the fishes defense , aramis and hanley in one infield
lol. thats one reason I don’t like the idea although it would probably be less risky than signing Reyes.
He has already said that he will move to 3rd if they sign Reyes.
Then he said he didn’t really want to.
Farve?
How does a team that barely is able to hold a 60 million payroll suddenly have all this cash to throw around? Don’t give me the new stadium excuse, they haven’t played a single game there.
Their owner is investing. He has plenty of money. He’s going all in for the purpose of getting Miami interested in the Marlins. He’s taking a risk to make money.
You have no idea how the economics of baseball works, do you? The expected revenues of the new ballpark will fund the new signings. They didn’t have these revenue streams before (concessions, parking, advertising, sponsorships, naming rights, etc.). Do you buy a house with all your cash up front? No, you pay for it with the earnings you’re going to receive.
I live down here and I’ve seen a LOT of people wearing the new uni’s, caps ect. (No matter how ugly you think they are they’re popular here.) at places like Pembroke lakes, Dolphin mall, South Beach and a bunch other places I’ve been to since the logo was revealed. Bandwagoning fans join in it doesn’t matter to me all that matters is the haters eating their words when we prove them wrong.
That’s a good question. Loria isn’t especially wealthy, at least compared to other owners and most of his net worth comes from owning the Marlins, a team that he obtained in a sweetheart deal with MLB and from whom he draws a hefty salary as CEO of “Double Play Co,” the “managing general partner” of the Marlins.
I suspect that some of this is hype and PR. The new stadium deal is unpopular in South Florida and he has to look like he is trying. That’s not to say that they aren’t sincerely interested in Reyes but he knows he can’t simply sit on the new stadium revenues, at least not yet. I think that if Buerhle, Reyes and Fielder all said “yes!” Loria would have a coronary.
Disagree to a point. While it is good press, they also know that if baseball is going to work ever in florida this is the year to get the impression out. They will sell out this year, and if they have a product on the field that will make the fans interested then people will come back. Remember the first few years the marlins had a top attendance in the league (then the strike and sell offs of the team and cheap payrolls onwards disheartening the fans).
This year if they make the splash they can steal the spotlight from the fins and become the 2nd biggest draw in miami (heat arent going to be passed but bball only draws 20-30k a game).
The marlins know if they flop this year though then they are done. Plain and simple this is the single most important year in the history and future of the franchise even more important then the world series years.
Also it should be noted they are going to mass market the team to south american, tv, radio, jerseys, ticket packages and specials, etc etc etc. If they can get the right stars in they will be able to pull it all together.
I think with a retractable dome they will get more fans with a good team. I also think players will want to play there.
I’m a little worried about Beinfest’s approach this offseason, and the points that you raised are the precise reasons why. Extending Infante for over 8 million? Shelling out 10 million and moving two decent prospects for Ozzie Guillen? 27 million plus for 34 year old Heath Bell? Beinfest and Co., they are smart guys. The 2006 team, Miguel and the minor leaguers on a shoestring budget, was a true delight. If only they’d spent then, instead of trading off Cabrera. So what are they doing now, building a team backwards?
We can only hope they are. Put these recent deals in the proper context: signing Reyes and Buerhle; extending Stanton, playing Morrison at first, Coghlan at second, and acquiring a real center fielder? I’m on board with that. But if Loria reels in Bell and Ramirez and Buerhle and calls it a day, I think we’re in for a sell off. Remember Carlos Delgado.
Who knows, maybe they will actually sign them.
Read the reports from last year how Loria pocketed up to 45 mil per season since the 06 season…and MLB forced him to spend on long term contracts in 2010—hence the JJ signing. Then look how much they paid to rent out Sun Life Stadium per season. Then look at how the loan on the new stadium is deferred for 30 years…that should start to make sense for you.
What happened to all the “These guys are just pulling a publicity stunt” spammers from yesterday.
Tail between your legs?
Go Marlins!
the real stunt will be who is more inept on the left side of the fishes defense hanley or aramis
Good one. Won’t be an issue with JJ and Wilson laying down the K’s
So far they’ve low-balled the ever-living you know what out of Pujols, made an offer to Madson that he publicly scoffed at, and surprisingly OVER spent on a 35 year old overweight closer.
You can be cocky IF your team lands a marquee free agent.
Until then, “tail between your legs” is far from applicable.
From what I’m aware, the details of the Pujols offer has yet to be publicized. I’d be interested to know what you mean about “low-balled the ever-living you know what out of Pujols”. Heck, It’s not even clear what the Cards have offered.
As for Madson scoffing at their offer, let him get overpaid somewhere else. Just bc a Relief pitcher scoffs at an offer doesn’t mean a team should overpay them for it. That is just Scott Boras doing his thing. Let the Red Sox overpay him. The Marlins, better yet Larry Beinfest, is to smart for that.
And you think the Marlins OVER spent on a Closer? What would you call the Phillies /Papelbon deal?
>get scoffed at
>sign someone way better than Madson
i’m okay with this.
Maybe they did it to spite the Phillies. “You know what Phils, your closer is alright, but we’re going with Bell. Good luck.”
Maybe they did it to spite the Phillies. “You know what Phils, your closer is alright, but we’re going with Bell. Good luck.”
The one thing you are not mentioning is that the Marlins had one of the highest debt to income ratios of any teams in the Major Leagues. That came out when the Dodgers went into bankruptcy. So while the Marlins were making money, most of it had to service the debt incurred from 2002 to 2005 when the payroll was exceeding the revenue generated. However, that’s never mentioned by the sports media because it counters their preconceived notions of Loria as the enemy.
No no-trade clause for Buehrle is not surprising because the Fish have a strict policy against giving them, however IDK if they are against giving him a limited no-trade to take out the threat of them trading him to a place where he has no desire to go to. As far as Reyes, it’s pretty much down to the Mets and the Marlins for his services. IMO the only thing that will keep Reyes in NY is the fact that he doesn’t want to leave, if he is OK with leaving, then he will be a Marlin within 2 or 3 days.
Are they really “that” serious about signing Pujols? Or do they want to make everyone think they are serious? Like, hey look at us, we’re serious about being contenders, you better watch out for us … as a way to make the fans want to drop $$$ on tickets and merchandise.
It seems to me Pujols wants to stay with the Cardinals, considering he gets his money. Fielder, on the other hand, WILL be signing with a new team, and would be more logical for the Marlins to focus on.
To me the Marlins would be more likely at signing Fielder than Pujols, yet they are showing everyone how much they are pursuing Pujols, knowing he will probably resign with the Cardinals. Seems odd to me.
Im starting to believe that the Marlins dont really care who they get.. its almost like the numbers dont matter its all about the player being Latin.. “Well Reyes may not work so lets go after Ramirez”.. unreal
Bienvenido Heath Bell!
In a related topic, with Bell gone, the Padres have officially joined the PCL for 2012 considering the AAA lineup that they are going to be fielding.
The ironic thing is they will come behind their current AAA affiliate in the standings.
C’mon, man! We just got Heath Bell and I sure as hell know he’s not latin xD
The Miami Marlins are acting like the Miami Heat
Not yet. Hopefully, by next week I can agree w/ you.
I hope Reyes returns to the Mets and the Marlins are forced to overpay on Ramirez
Who overpays, the Marlins getting a productive 3B for the season, or the Mets getting an injury-prone SS for half a season?
The Marlins are also seriously pursuing trades for Clayton Kershaw, Tim Lincecum and Cole Hamels…
I’m happy to see Miami being aggressive, but it’s starting to get old, especially with the reported low-ball offers they’ve made to several free agents.
I heard a rumor they were in talks to get Halladay too.
I think the Marlins are still going to get a big name position player and a good pitcher. I would say Reyes is at the top of that list, with Pujols being a long shot. Fielder is interesting in that he might be the best fit for this team.
Miami is not a good sports town. Would not surprise me it all to see it end up like the D-Backs a few years ago. Spend a ton of money get a championship & have MLB bail them out.
Another Braves Hater shaking at what is to come.
The Marlins did the spending twice, but they cut payroll on their own without needing an MLB bailout.
I really do hope the Marlins get some SP. They are going to need it to compete w/ the Phils and Braves.
Agreed. Their line-up is already pretty good, but their bullpen and lackluster 3-5 starters are holding them back.
Marlins cant give ANYONE a no trade clause because they can only afford one year of top players before they have to have another fire sale.
Even with their new stadium, their revenue is too low to keep up a payroll over $80-90 million.
Beinfest has already said payroll will not be over $100 million in 2012.
Come on Marlins, sign both Buehrle and Wilson. If you want people to take you seriously, give Buehrle the no-trade clause.