MIAMI—By dealing All-Star infielder Dan Uggla, the Florida Marlins made a departure from their normal personnel procedures of waiting to win a World Series before completely dismantling their team. The team last destroyed their core group of players in 2003 and before that in 1997, both on the heels of championship wins.

“I know this franchise normally waits to be successful before we decide to suck again,” explained Marlins general Michael Hill. “But we need to mix things up. If that means trading away the best player on a team that finished under .500, so be it. We’re opening a new ballpark in a few years and we really need to alienate the few fans we have if we want to see those seats empty.”