DALLAS -- The Marlins returned home from baseball’s winter meetings on “Air Loria,” owner Jeffrey Loria’s private plane, with a lighter wallet but a stronger roster.

And although they fell short in their attempt to land two more big weapons in Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson — both of whom chose the Angels over the Marlins — they still came away as big winners.

There could be more to come.

“We still have some stuff cooking,” Larry Beinfest, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations, said as the winter meetings wrapped up Thursday. “I just don’t know that it will be at the pace we just had — the pace or the magnitude.”

Until the Angels struck it big Thursday by landing Pujols and Wilson with huge contracts, the Marlins dominated the winter meetings with their signings of free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell.

Pujols agreed to a deal that will pay him $254 million over 10 years while Wilson, a California native, apparently gave the Angels a hometown discount by taking their five-year deal for $77 million. The Marlins offered the left-handed starter a six-year deal worth about $98 million, and his agent said the Marlins were prepared to go even higher.

“If it was about money, I’d be a Marlin,” Wilson said.

The Marlins met with Wilson late Wednesday night, and the pitcher made up his mind at 5:30 a.m. Thursday.

“The Marlins were really the front-runner in a lot of ways,” Wilson said. “The Marlins were such a strong offer I might not have ended up in Anaheim unless things came together [Wednesday] night the way they did. [Miami] presented the best financial situation and really the most freedom in a lot of ways, as well.”

There was USA Today report that the Marlins actually outbid the Angels for Pujols with a $275 million offer for the superstar. But sources said that figure was grossly exaggerated, that the Marlins’ bid to Pujols was just a shade more than $200 million.

“I really think we had a shot at him,” Beinfest said. “Maybe all along he was just using us. I don’t know. We’ll never know. But we were at it. We were at it pretty good. You could tell we were giving it attention.”

The Marlins met four separate times with Pujols’ agent on Monday and Tuesday. One way or the other, the Marlins did not leave disappointed.

They obtained the position player they coveted most in Reyes, and always preferred Buehrle over Wilson. Buehrle, who agreed to a four-year deal worth $58 million, will be formally introduced Friday at the team’s new ballpark.

The Marlins are continuing to look for starting pitching help, and likely will work trade angles to locate a new arm. They’ll also be looking around for bench improvement.

Beinfest said the bullpen is set with the addition of Bell.

“Very satisfied,” Beinfest said. “I think it’s a strong pen. It’s not an area we’re probably going to spend a lot of time on the remainder of the offseason.”

The Marlins could take a look at a number of starters via trade; Oakland’s Gio Gonzalez and the Cubs’ Matt Garza and Carlos Zambrano are mentioned often as potential targets. Gonzalez and Garza would command a high price in exchange, though.

The Marlins could also hold out hope that Javier Vazquez — who has indicated a desire to retire, but hasn’t made an official announcement — decides to return for another season.

Oviedo update

Marlins reliever Juan Carlos Oviedo was arrested Thursday in his native Dominican Republic but then quickly released, with authorities saying he will not face charges stemming from an investigation into his use of false documents to sign a professional baseball contract.

The pitcher, formerly known as Leo Nunez, had been trying to get a new visa under his real name so he could return to the U.S.

Material from Miami Herald wire services was used in this report.