"There was a rumor flying around yesterday, as has been the case for much of this winter, about where the Prince Fielder talks currently sit. The rumor had Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, possibly considering a shorter-term, three-year deal for his client.

That one just doesn't pass the proverbial smell test. If anything, Boras would probably lower the yearly dollar amount before he'd sacrifice long-term security for his client. After all, if he could land a seven-year deal for Jayson Werth, why settle for less than half of that on a better player in Fielder? Especially when all the questions about Fielder's durability center around the seasons that come after the next three? It stands to reason that those questions would become more numerous after 2014, regardless of how Fielder performs in the interim. In other words, he's unlikely to be in a position to score bigger dollars in the winter of 2014-15 no matter how many home runs he hits between now and then.

And if he struggles at any point? Well, then you'd almost certainly expect him to potentially earn less for the 2015-18 seasons than he would by inking those years into a pact right now.

No, there sure isn't a whole lot to gain for Fielder and Boras by taking a few more short term dollars right now.

As for the teams pursuing him? Out of all the named suspects in the Fielder hunt, the only one I can see truly benefitting from a short-term deal would be the Rangers. After all, they've been to the World Series the past two seasons and are truly in "win now" mode as well as looking to the future.

The others? Nope. The Cubs, Nationals, Blue Jays and Mariners do not fit the description.

We'll focus on the Mariners for now. They really don't need to be throwing even bigger bucks at Fielder for just a short-term gain, though I know some in Seattle have advocated an early opt-out clause."