"As talk continued to swirl at the Winter Meetings of Seattle being one of the players in the Prince Fielder pursuits, Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik downplayed a report Tuesday that his team is the current leader for the free-agent slugger.

Former Reds and Nationals general manager Jim Bowden, now an ESPN and MLB Network commentator, created some stir by tweeting that the Mariners were "the front-runners" at the moment, with the Brewers, Cubs and Blue Jays all wanting shorter-term deals.

But Zduriencik disagreed with that stance Tuesday evening when meeting with several Seattle media members in his hotel suite here at the Anatole Hilton as the second day at the Meetings wrapped up. "