Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik downplayed a report Tuesday that his team is the current leader for free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder. Former Reds and Nationals general manager Jim Bowden, now an analyst, created some stir by tweeting that the Mariners were "the front-runners" at the moment. "I don't want to talk about Prince, but I would say the wording of that is misleading," Zduriencik said. "Because you don't know, on any free agent, I have no clue how many clubs are in on any free agent that we're talking to. "Even today, the guys I've sat with tell me they've got five clubs interested in their player or players," he said. "And in any case, how do you know that? Another ballclub is not going to tell you. As I've said with all of this stuff, I'd prefer to be low key on any discussion. My style is not to build up a big fanfare. Sometimes these things get legs of their own. "To say anybody is a front-runner, I don't know how that would have come out."