After dining Zito, Mets execs meet with righty Suppan

NEW YORK -- A day after dining with Barry Zito, New York Mets officials met Wednesday with another free-agent pitcher, Jeff Suppan.

The NL East champions are seeking to boost a rotation led by Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez.

Pedro Martinez is recovering from rotator cuff surgery and hopes to return during the second half of the season. John Maine, Dave Williams, Oliver Perez, Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber also hope to start.

Zito and agent Scott Boras dined with Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, general manager Omar Minaya, assistant GM John Ricco and vice president Tony Bernazard in the Los Angeles area.

"I think clubs wanted to talk about their franchises, show the persona behind the ownership, the direction of the teams," Boras said Wednesday night.

The Mets took a low-key initial public stance on their recruitment of the pitcher: Wilpon and Minaya didn't respond to messages about the meeting.

Four teams currently appear to be in the competition for Zito, the top available free-agent pitcher. Zito and Boras met Monday with Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi and manager Mike Hargrove. Zito and Boras traveled to Texas for meetings with Rangers executives on Nov. 30.

The San Francisco Giants also are thought to be interested in Zito, who spent the past seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics. Zito was in the Bay Area for a holiday party on Dec. 11, but Giants general manager Brian Sabean wouldn't say whether they met.

"Clubs have identified Barry Zito as a No. 1 pitcher and a difference-maker for their staff," Boras said. "It's a very competitive environment for him, what you would expect."

Zito, like most Boras clients, does not seem to be in a rush to make his decision. Boras has said he envisions a six- or seven-year contract for the left-hander, who has made at least 34 starts in six consecutive seasons.

Without identifying all the clubs, Boras said five teams have shown significant interest in Zito at this point.

"We've gotten offers from every team we've dealt with," he said. "We're past the preliminary meet-and-greet stages."

Suppan, 32 next month, was 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA for St. Louis this season. He was MVP of the NL Championship Series in helping the Cardinals to the World Series title.