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Marlins owner still mourning Fernandez's death

Steve Mitchell / USA TODAY Sports

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has had trouble coping with the death of his young superstar.

Typically, Loria goes to Europe with his wife at the end of November or early December for a few weeks. But this time, the owner left immediately after Jose Fernandez's sudden death in September.

“We were so shocked and so upset, we just left for three or four weeks,” Loria said Thursday, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. “We’ve been back a couple of weeks now and we’re trying to regroup.

“Jose was practically like another member of my family. When you lose someone in your family, especially at that age, it’s tragedy with a capital ‘T.’”

The toughest part for Loria, though, is having to move on without Fernandez. Days after his death, the club signed third baseman Martin Prado to a three-year, $40-million deal.

This week, the Marlins signed right-hander Edinson Volquez to a two-year, $22 million contract.

So while it would be easy to walk away from it all, Loria knows business is business, and he needs to find a way to keep going.

"You don’t replace a giant like Jose, but you’ve got to push forward,” Loria said. “I don’t quit. I’ve never quit. I’m certainly not going to quit on this team.

"You don’t have any choices in life,” Loria added. “Sometimes you just have to move forward, step back and take two steps forward. That’s what I’m doing.”

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