Marlins To Ship Reyes, Buerhle, Johnson To Blue Jays

Reports began surfacing late Monday afternoon that the Miami Marlins were looking to ship last off-season's star free agent acquisitions of Jose Reyes and Mark Buerhle to the Blue Jays.

Within minutes, many outlets refreshed their reports saying the Toronto Blue Jays and Marlins were more than discussing a blockbuster deal - rather it's already been agreed to.

Reyes and Buerhle, along with Josh Johnson, Emilio Bonifacio and John Buck appear to be headed north of the border.

In return, the Jays will send shortstop Yunel Escobar and a package young talents - some in the majors, some from the minors.

It's not unlike Marlins owner Jeff Lurie to unload the team's large contracts - having done it after each of the Fish's two World Series titles - but it curious in that ownership appears to be jumping ship after just one season.

The Marlins moved to Miami last season, opened a brand new park and flashed a lot of cash to free agents: six years and $106 million for Reyes, four years and $58 million for Buerhle, and three years and $27 million for closer Heath Bell - who was shipped out of Florida last month.

All the hype did lead to an attendance jump, but not near what was expected.

While the 2.2 million fans who went to Marlins park last season was more than the 1.5 million they averaged the previous three years in Florida, it still ranked just 18th overall in MLB, according to the palm beach post.