Pursuing Pujols, Marlins have stolen baseball spotlight

DALLAS — Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria and three of his top lieutenants moved across the lobby of the Hilton Anatole around noon yesterday and with each step picked up another media member or two as a shadow.

The previous day, Loria had left a press conference in which Miami officially announced the signing of Heath Bell and a throng of reporters followed him down a corridor, eventually imploring Loria to stop for questions. The impromptu press conference lasted about 15 minutes.

A long-time friend of Loria said the New York-based art dealer has always wanted to be George Steinbrenner and suddenly he is. It is a Miami miracle.

Loria and his Marlins — yes, pinch yourself, the Marlins — are dominating these Winter Meetings. They have changed their first name to Miami, their address to a retractable dome stadium in Little Havana and their modus operandi to big spending.

It turns out the Marlins’ quick, early offers in free agency were not a publicity stunt to spur ticket sales for their new park. But now Miami has signed Bell and Jose Reyes (his press conference is here today), and they had transformed from a Cardinal nuisance when it came to landing Albert Pujols to controlling the pace of negotiations.

They offered Pujols a 10-year deal for what was believed to be more than $200 million and all indications were they wanted a quick response. But the field, if anything, appeared to be widening last night, not diminishing.

A person involved in the negotiations told me the Cubs were involved with Pujols — perhaps only as a gadfly to their main-rival Cardinals. who reportedly increased their offer to 10 years last night. An AL official also informed me the Angels were deep in negotiations for Pujols, which a Los Angeles executive denied. But last night Foxsports.com reported the Angels were indeed bidding on Pujols, as well. And USA Today reported three teams were over the $200 million threshold in offers for Pujols, who has had dreams — still likely to go unfulfilled — of topping Alex Rodriguez’s record 10-year, $275 million pact.

St. Louis had been sitting on a nine-year, $198 million offer made last spring to retain its icon. As a 10-and-5 player, Pujols would have automatic no-trade rights with the Cardinals. The Marlins have never granted such a provision under Loria and don’t plan to — even for Pujols.

And it is clear why Pujols would want the clause to go to Florida: The Marlins are making huge financial outlays when they have no idea if they can maintain large attendance long-term, even in a new facility. The joke around the Anatole is to guess when the next Marlin fire sale will begin; and obviously Pujols does not want to be in a position in a few years in which Miami controls his destiny.