DALLAS – Jeffrey Loria quickly marched down the hallway with his team president, trailed by their top aides, and hustled into a meeting room with a labor lawyer from Major League Baseball.
Having already made the biggest splash at the winter meetings, the Miami Marlins owner was trying to reel in Albert Pujols and perhaps other big-name free agents with the newfound riches from their new ballpark.
“He’s not the only guy,” Loria said about 20 minutes later before heading back upstairs on an elevator with his delegation.
Baseball’s new Big Fish were the talk of the winter meetings Tuesday, with teams wondering how close the Marlins were to an agreement with Pujols on a deal that could be worth $200 million or more over 10 years for the three-time NL MVP.
St. Louis said it submitted a new offer Tuesday to keep Pujols with the Cardinals, a team he’s already led to two World Series titles in the last six seasons.
Traditional big spenders such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were reduced to spectators.
“They have a new stadium. They’re excited about it, and it’s good for baseball,” former Marlins and current Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “They had hoped that
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