Local Cuban-American billionaire has emerged as the favorite to buy the Marlins ahead of Jeb Bush, Derek Jeter, and Tagg Romney

It appears that Jorge Mas, a Miami native, businessman and philanthropist, has emerged as the frontrunner to purchase the team from Jeffrey Loria.

According to Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com, Mas and Loria recently engaged in high-level talks, leading some close to the team to believe that Mas is the top candidate to strike a deal. All previous negotiations were conducted through David Samson, the Marlins team president.

Fox Business Network's Charlie Gasparino also reported that Mas is "inching closer to buying" the Marlins and that it is "Jorge Mas’ to lose."

According to Gasparino, Mas' bid is "around $1.17 billion," below the $1.3 billion asking price from Loria, and that a deal could be completed at the All-Star game or shortly thereafter.

Other ownership groups linked with the Marlins include the Tagg Romney-Wayne Rothbaum group and the Derek Jeter group.

The negotiation process has been a tumultuous one, with former Florida governor Jeb Bush defecting from Jeter's and moving over to the Romney-Rothbaum group last month. Jeter, a 14-time All-Star for the New York Yankees, is reportedly willing to contribute just $20 million to $25 million to a bid and has struggled to secure financial backing.

However, it appears that both of those groups have struggled to raise enough money to compete with Mas.

"From what I understand Jeter and Romney don’t have the money as of now to compete with Jorge Mas’ bid," Gasparino said on the Fox Business Network.

Mas, meanwhile, has a net worth of more than $1 billion, according to an estimate by . With the team expected to sell for around $1.2 billion, the purchase would require a big chunk of Mas' fortune, but he is said to be willing to make major sacrifices, including 14-hour days, to turn the team around.

Mas is the chairman of the board and co-founder of MasTec, a construction company based in the Miami area. He also graduated from the University of Miami's business school in 1984, giving him the ideal combination of fiscal bona fides and community involvement needed to turn around the Marlins, who rank as one of baseball's least valuable teams.

Furthermore, Mas chairs the Cuban American National Foundation, an organization dedicated to "freedom, democracy, and respect for human rights to Cuba." In a city with a heavy Cuban and Cuban-American population, he could be a perfect fit for the front office.

Loria, meanwhile, consistently ranks as one of the worst owners in baseball. A Manhattan-born art dealer who acquired the team after giving up his share of the then-Montreal Expos back in 2002, Loria developed a reputation for fitful spending sprees during his time in South Beach. He won a World Series in his first year with the Marlins, but the team hasn't been back to the postseason since.

Nothing has been completed, but a deal could come "soon," Heyman reports. The Marlins are currently 41-46, good for third in the National League East.