After an underwhelming season, the Miami Marlins traded all the stars they acquired just one offseason ago. The Marlins were moving into a new ballpark and wanted the baseball world to take them seriously again. The franchise had not been competitive in almost a decade, when in 2003 they won the World Series. Owner Jeffrey Loria decided the best way to get noticed was to spend a whole lot of money on every top free agent in the winter including batting champion Jose Reyes, pitcher Mark Buerhle, and closer Heath Bell. Bell had a horrible season and was traded to Arizona at the end of the zone. Midseason, the Marlins started to unravel and traded away Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, and Omar Infante. However, the shocking trade was the one that sent Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and pitching ace Josh Johnson. In return, the Blue Jays sent troubled shortstop Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Henderson Alvarez, and other prospects. However, at the Winter Meetings Escobar was traded to cross town rivals Tampa Bay Rays. It doesn’t sound like the Marlins will even have a full team for the 2013 season.
