The Marlins aren’t just opening a new ballpark. They also seem willing to open their bank vault, shedding their label as penny-pinchers by splurging on high-profile free agents Albert Pujols, Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle.
Sources said Friday that the Marlins made “substantial” offers to the three players, each of whom visited South Florida this week to tour the new ballpark and meet with club executives, including owner Jeffrey Loria.
“We’re looking at everyone and we want to make this team as special as we can,” said Loria, who confirmed that offers were made to each of the three players. “We would be foolish not to entertain the possibilities of some of these players. It’s a new page. With this new stadium, we want to step into a new light.”
Whether the offers are lucrative enough to entice any or all of them remains to be seen.
“You can’t really tell,” Loria said. “They’re all very highly sought after and we’re being very aggressive. We’re hopeful some of these deals will happen.”
If the Marlins were to sign all three players, it could put them in the top stratosphere of big-spending teams, with a payroll conceivably exceeding $130 million.
To put that figure into perspective, it would have represented the fifth-highest payroll in the majors last season, exceeded only by the Yankees, Phillies, Red Sox and Angels.
“There are absolutely no limits to try and see what can be done,” Loria said.
It’s definitely a new era for the Marlins, who changed their name to the Miami Marlins and unveiled a new logo and uniforms in a ceremony at their new, Little Havana ballpark on Friday.
The new park is set to open April 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
And Pujols, one of the most feared hitters in baseball, could end up facing his old team — the World Series champs — if he moves his show to South Florida.
If the Marlins were successful in signing both Reyes and Pujols, they would boast one of the most formidable lineups in the majors, a lineup that would also include Hanley Ramirez, Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison.
Buehrle would give the Marlins a top lefty presence in the rotation.
Each of the three players met this week with club officials, with Pujols arriving Friday to lunch with Loria and tour the ballpark.
Sources said Loria presented an offer to Pujols during lunch.
Pujols, a three-time National League Most Valuable Player, is a career .328 hitter with 445 home runs and has spent his entire 11-season major league career with St. Louis. The Cardinals reportedly offered Pujols, who turns 32 in January, a nine-year deal worth $200 million.
Pujols’ opinion of the new ballpark?
“He loved the space,” Loria said. “He loved the size of it. He couldn’t believe that there were just 37,000 seats. It’s immense downstairs when you look at it. He liked being here. He loved the flavor of Miami.”
The Marlins are expected to receive competition for all three players, but Loria said the Marlins offer an enticing package in the form of a new ballpark, new manager — new everything.
“They seem to have come down here right away,” Loria noted of the three free agents, who could begin talking to other teams on Nov. 3. Miami is a magnet. The city, manager, ballpark, the players we have. ... All of it put together is the magnet for them. We’ll see what happens.” -Miami Herald
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