Fishy Deal? Miami Marlins Fans Bash Mega-Trade

Fans upset over trade that sends players to Toronto

Miami Marlins fans are crying foul on their team following Tuesday's mega-trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that will see the team sending a big chunk of their starting lineup north of the border.

"For me it just shows a huge lack of consistency with the Marlins organization, you just don't know what direction they're gonna go,' Marlins fan Mike Quintana said. "It's unfortunate that in this city, we have no consistency with that team, its been like that since the beginning, build and take apart, build and take apart, and unfortunately that doesn't do much for you long term."

The trade sends pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, shortstop Jose Reyes, infielder Emilio Bonifacio and catcher John Buck to Toronto  in exchange for shortstops Yunel Escobar and Adeiny Hechavarria, pitcher Henderson Alvarez, minor league pitchers Justin Nicolino and Anthony DeSclafani, and minor league center fielder Jake Marisnick.

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The players involved must undergo physicals before the trade becomes final and neither team has confirmed the swap.

The Marlins signed Reyes and Buehrle to long-term deals last winter as part of a huge spending spree in advance of the opening of Marlins Park in 2012. But the team grossly underperformed, finishing 69-93 and in last place in the NL East, sparking the current roster shakeup that will surely go down as one of the biggest fire sales in baseball history.
 
"It's terrible, we got a beautiful stadium and now we're getting rid of players," fan Chris Hernandez said. "I don't know what's gonna happen with the Marlins now, with the fans."

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Fans weren't the only ones upset. Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton took to Twitter after learning of the trade, tweeting: "Alright, I'm pissed off!!! Plain & Simple"

Some fans said they had feelings of deja vu, as the trade resembles similar fire sales in years past.

"I think it's stupid, every time we have something building up just like after the World Series in '97, after 2003, we always shed our good players I think it's dumb," Jorge Lopez said. "Hopefully they don't trade Stanton, if they trade Stanton, I'll stop being a fan."

Fans on NBC 6 South Florida's Facebook page weren't any more forgiving.

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"This is very disappointing. We all know the Marlins have done this fire sale in the past, only difference this time is they didn't win a championship. I guess they can't get any worse than they this year!" Nick Shoopman said.

Others bashed owner Jeffrey Loria and team president David Samson, and criticized the taxpayer funded $600 million stadium deal.

"Fire sale # 3! The people of Miami were taken to the woodshed and spanked on this stadium deal!" Lawrence W. Brady II wrote.

Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez, who was against building the new ballpark, also had his say

"It's another event that pours salt in the wounds of the residents of this community for a deal that they felt was not a good deal to begin with. I think this is another action by the team that really turns off the fan base," Suarez told NBC 6. "I think it's clear that the citizens that I've spoken to, the people, the Facebook massages, the text messages that I've seen indicate a clear sense of betrayal not only because of the actual trade itself but linking the trade to the deal that created the stadium."

Hernandez, who describes himself as a die hard Marlins fan, said he'll still go to the games but said it was hard to not be disappointed.

"Makes me feel terrible, now we don't have a team, we had a team, we had something to start with, build something, and now it's falling apart," Hernandez said.

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