There have been conflicting reports about the Cubs' interest in Prince Fielder, and the market for him has been slow to develop even after Albert Pujols signed with the Angels. We'll keep track of today's Fielder rumors here:
- The Cubs will continue to be involved in the free-agent bidding for Fielder, two major league sources with knowledge of the negotiations tell Bruce Levine of ESPNChicago.com.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets that a well-placed source tells him Chicago's interest in Fielder is nothing more than a smokescreen and that the hefty first baseman may wind up taking a shorter-term deal. In a second tweet, Strauss speculates that the Cardinals could slow-play Carlos Beltran and see what happens with the Fielder market.