Cubs manager completes coaching staff, talks Fielder

The Cubs are making it sound like news to them that they're the reported “front-runners” to land free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder.

While Manager Dale Sveum held a teleconference with reporters Friday to announce his new coaching staff, inevitably — and understandably given Sveum's good relationship with Fielder — the subject of the slugger came up.

“At this point, it's a lot of media talk than us doing anything,” said Sveum, who worked with Fielder as the Brewers' hitting coach before getting the Cubs job. “We haven't had any talks with Prince, and I haven't had any conversations with him, so I think it's more the media and other people bringing this to the table than what we're doing right now. We haven't initiated any kind of contact.”

It's been a slow week on the hot-stove front, and Fielder's name is the biggest out there, with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish apparently having his rights won by Toronto (the Cubs had interest, but no one expected them to be the high-bidders).

The Cubs have left themselves plenty of verbal wiggle room on the Fielder situation. Team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer repeatedly have said they want to build from within and pay for future performance, not past accomplishments.

On the other hand, they've said the Cubs are a big-market club and will operate like one.

Fielder's agent, Scott Boras, is still trying to drum up a market for Fielder. The Cubs do not appear willing to go out eight to 10 years on a player, even after the Los Angeles Angels gave Albert Pujols a 10-year deal worth a quarter-billion dollars.

But if Boras and Fielder come to the Cubs and say they'd be willing to do a five-year deal, I believe the Cubs definitely will listen. Fielder is only 27, and he'd still have good years left when such a deal would be done, and he could cash in again.

McKay switches sides:The Cubs retained half of their coaching staff and added three new coaches. Dave McKay, longtime coach for Tony La Russa in St. Louis, becomes the first-base coach. He joins new bench coach Jamie Quirk and new pitching coach Chris Bosio. Remaining on the staff are Rudy Jaramillo (hitting), Lester Strode (bullpen) and Pat Listach, who moves from the bench to the third-base coaching box. The Cubs did not play the game well this past year, and I asked Sveum about the job the new staff could do in instructing Cubs players. Sveum and his staff met the previous day in Arizona to get started on things such as planning for spring training. #8220;I'm really excited, the way we can teach,#8221; Sveum said. #8220;Dave McKay is one of the best, if not the best, outfield and baserunning coaches out there. He's got a huge background of what he's done. He's done a lot of good things in St. Louis for 16 years. #8220;Jamie Quirk, Chris Bosio, we have a lot of guys who are really good teachers and have a lot of experience and know how to handle big-league players and get the best out of them.#8221;The Cubs added a couple of staff assistants. Mike Borzello will instruct the catchers and be involved in the advance-scouting process while Franklin Font will assist Jaramillo. Borzello has 16 years experience with major-league clubs. Font returns for his 18th season in the Cubs organization. He spent the last three years as minor-league infield coordinator. All about the pitching:The Chicago media have not had a chance to meet Chris Bosio yet, but Dale Sveum says the new pitching coach has strengths in both the physical and mental aspects of the job. The Cubs finished third to last in team ERA this season. Bosio and Sveum were teammates with the Brewers. #8220;He's really good at teaching guys a lot of things, how to make the ball move, cut it, sink it,#8221; Sveum said. #8220;On the psychology part, he's going to help with the mindset and how to get hitters out, sequences, staying on top of things like that. Chris is a very hardworking guy. He's going to get down and dirty with each and every pitcher and get the best out of them.#8221;#376; Follow Bruce Miles on Twitter @BruceMiles2112.BBN23373505After working with Tony LaRussa for 26 seasons, Dave McKay is the new first base coach for Cubs manager Dale Sveum.Associated PressBBNBBN20012801Dave McKay BBN