Marlins The Talk Of MLB's GM Meetings With Newfound Commitment To Spending

The “historically frugal Marlins have raised eyebrows by offering contracts to Jose Reyes, Albert Pujols and Mark Buehrle, three of the biggest names on this year’s free agent market,” according to Clark Spencer of the MIAMI HERALD. Marlins President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest said, “I know this thing kind of came out of left field for a lot people, that we’ve reportedly been so aggressive early. But we want to be aggressive. We’re a different team than we have been.” He added, “We haven’t been big in free agency in a while. Given our situation, we haven’t been involved in a lot of free agency. (Now) we would love to secure some players as soon as possible and try to get this team together.” Beinfest noted it is “a change from past” GM meetings, when the Marlins “typically showed up looking to dump salary.” Now, for the “first time since 2005," the Marlins are "looking to increase payroll.” Beinfest: “Maybe we can look at something we haven’t been able to look at (in the past), which is maybe taking money back in a trade rather than moving money” (MIAMI HERALD, 11/16). In West Palm Beach, Joe Capozzi notes with “offers out to some of baseball's biggest free agents, the Marlins are suddenly the big man on campus at baseball's first off-season gathering, grabbing a spotlight usually reserved for the likes of super-agent Scott Boras and Yankees GM Brian Cashman.” A new $515M ballpark “has allowed the Marlins to boost their payroll to a record level in 2012, possibly to $130 million.” Beinfest, whose team had a $57M payroll in ‘11, “only laughed when a New York reporter asked about the possibility of the Marlins spending more money this winter than the Mets.” Braves GM Frank Wren said of the Marlins, "Having a permanent home and new resources coming in, they have the ability to be a perennial contender. It makes our division much more competitive” (PALM BEACH POST, 11/16). Beinfest said, "We're just looking to upgrade our team and I know there’s been a lot of things out there, and for good reason. We are trying to be aggressive in a lot of areas to see if we can upgrade our roster" ("Hot Stove,” MLB Network, 11/15).

COMPLETE OVERHAUL: MLB.com’s Terence Moore wrote under the header, “Marlins Changing Things In Positive Manner.” The Marlins are "in the midst of changing just about everything,” including their manager, their ballpark, their uniforms, their logo, their name and “even their approach to spending.” Moore wrote “few people care about the Marlins north of Fort Lauderdale, which is why team officials decided -- wisely -- to make the inhabitants of Miami feel special by using the name of their city.” New ballparks “nearly always attract a bunch of folks during their first year or so in existence, but to keep them coming, you need more than that.” Moore: “You need to win. Which is why the Marlins hired certified winner Ozzie Guillen as manager.” Still, none of the changes “will work for the Marlins unless they have enough talent” (MLB.com, 11/15). In N.Y., Andrew Keh writes the Marlins are “creating the most noise this off-season.” Beinfest said, “I think it’s just an exciting time for the franchise. ... It’s just in general the excitement around the franchise that we have a new home, we have a new manager, we have new uniforms, we have a vision of where we want to go” (N.Y. TIMES, 11/16).

CAN'T LET GO: In Toronto, Richard Griffin notes it is the “combination of new stadium and re-branding the entire operation that will become the huge bonanza for Marlins’ ownership and if anybody doesn’t deserve it,” it is team Owner Jeffrey Loria. He was the “clear villain of the piece earlier this century when the Expos were run into the ground, forced to leave Canada and head to Washington as a relocated franchise.” His “familiar take-it-or-leave-it tactics in Montreal were the same he utilized in south Florida, but the results were so dramatically different.” Griffin: “Now, all of a sudden, with the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted, after the stadium has already been built, with opening day set for April 12, 2012, the Marlins are now becoming major players in free agency. Somehow they will find the necessary money.” The team has “even flown the most coveted free agent, Albert Pujols in for preliminary talks.” Griffin: “Sure, maybe that’s just for show … but it’s having the desired effect on their fans as they sell the off-season sizzle” (TORONTO STAR, 11/16).