One year after the taxpayers of Miami-Dade gave Jeffrey Loria a brand new, $515 million ballpark, he's already given up even pretending to field a major league baseball team. In one of the largest salary dumps in the history of baseball, the Marlins are reportedly shipping basically every player on the team not named Giancarlo Stanton to Toronto.
Say goodbye to Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonafacio, Mark Buehrle and John Buck, Marlins fans. Say hello to 12,000 fans a game next year, Miami.
The details are still sketchy about what the Marlins will get in return, but among the players coming to town is shortstop Yunel Escobar. Yes, he's the same guy suspended earlier this year for writing "tu eres maricon," or "you are a faggot" on his eyeblack.
>Also in the mix are starter Henderson Alvarez, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria and some minor leaguers.
The deal is apparently still in negotiations, but is solid enough that the Miami Herald is confirming that all five players are goners.
The real reason Loria is making the deal, of course, is that he'll save more than $150 million in salary by shipping these guys out of town.
It's a charming move by an owner who lied to the city by repeatedly claiming the team was near bankruptcy when it was actually one of the most profitable in baseball so that taxpayers would build him a new stadium.
Now, after one year of pretending to spend money on free agents, Loria can go back to his old game: Pocketing revenue sharing, spending minimally on his franchise and not giving two craps whether fans come to see his team.
Hooray Marlins baseball!
Update: Giancarlo Stanton has weighed in with his early review on the deal:
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