The Albert Pujols contract sweepstakes started off slowly this offseason; no specific offers were made early and only two or three teams — the Cubs and Marlins in addition to the Cardinals, the team he could be leaving — appeared to be interested.

The Marlins, who just made a splash on the free agent market with their six-year, $106 million deal with Jose Reyes, are now offering a 10-year deal to Pujols, according to Jon Heyman:

Serious business, that, if it turns out to be true.

The Marlins have been one of baseball’s smallest-payroll teams for most of their existence, except for the brief times when they expanded it — and won the World Series doing it, particularly in 1997, only to then immediately break up the team. Where they’re suddenly getting all this money — a 10-year deal to Pujols would likely cost at least twice as much as they’re giving Reyes — no one knows.

And all of this is coming on the heels of the announcement of a government investigation of the financing of the Marlins’ new ballpark.

The old saying “May you live in interesting times” surely applies to the Miami Marlins. We await further developments.