MIAMI -- Even after trading away the leading home-run hitter and winningest pitcher in franchise history, the Florida Marlins insisted Thursday that they haven't giving up hope on this season.

The Marlins dealt outfielder Cliff Floyd to Montreal and sent Dempster to Cincinnati on Thursday.

In return for the two former All-Stars, Florida received outfielder Juan Encarnacion from the Reds, and infielder Mike Mordecai as well as pitchers Graeme Lloyd and Carl Pavano from Montreal, plus some minor leaguers.

"You make trades trying to get better for now and the future, and I think we've done that,'' Marlins president David Samson said. "To our fans, I say change in baseball happens and it's good. This is not a white flag by any stretch.''

The Marlins are 45-43 and trail Atlanta by 11{ games in the NL East.

Floyd was the last player who had been with the Marlins every season since the team won its lone World Series championship in 1997. Catcher Charles Johnson was also on that 1997 club, but played for three other teams before rejoining the Marlins before the 2001 season.

Johnson was one of many stars of that 1997 team who were dumped for salary reasons before the 1998 season as the Marlins trimmed their payroll to $31 million, down 40 percent from the year before.

Fans in South Florida have been skeptical about the franchise's future since. The average attendance at a Marlins game this season is less than 11,000, but Samson continues to insist that the club has no plans to move elsewhere.

"Not only do we care about this year, but we care about future years,'' said Samson, who has predicted the Marlins could lose $20 million this season. "This is not a firesale. This is us making moves and trying to keep ourselves good now and in the future.''

After arriving at Pro Player Stadium for a workout Thursday morning, Floyd said he believed the Marlins -- who entered the day 6½ games behind Arizona in the wild card race -- still had a strong chance of contending for a postseason berth.

But if the Marlins trade away most of their core players and fall out of contention, Floyd said no one will want to remain with the club.

"You're going to start getting everybody aggravated and everybody's going to want to get out of here,'' Floyd said before the trade was announced. "It's a sorry situation.''

Dempster was 5-8 with a 4.79 ERA in 18 starts this season for Florida. His 42 career victories with the Marlins are a club record.

Floyd, who said he will test the free-agent waters after this season, hit .287 with a team-high 18 home runs and 57 RBI. He was the team's highest-paid player, making $6.5 million in the final year of his contract.

"From a business standpoint, I think it has to be done,'' Floyd said. "From a competitive standpoint, it looks bad. But we're not the business guys. We're players.''

The Marlins open their second-half schedule Friday afternoon against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Manager Jeff Torborg said he still believes the club is capable of getting back in the postseason races.

"This team is a very strong team as far as character is concerned,'' Torborg said. "I'm just hoping we can bring the new guys into the picture and get the pitching where we hoped it would be. I still really believe we could make a run.''