Jeffrey Loria insists that Miami's roster purge this offseason was about upgrading the club's farm system and not cutting payroll.

"You've said that question in four different ways," Loria said. "My response to you is we have put together some championship-caliber players. We're going to field an excellent team in the next two or three years that you're going to be proud of."

Fans are upset that after only one season of big spending in a new ballpark built mostly with tax money, the Marlins slashed their payroll.

"We have some very exciting young players here," Loria said. "We need to bring them along and develop our own stars, or else we're going to be a last-place team forever."