Brewers discuss adding Suppan Club officials meet with pitcher's agent By TOM HAUDRICOURT thaudricourt@journalsentinel.com Posted: Dec. 21, 2006 A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed Wednesday night that Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and club officials met Tuesday in Los Angeles with Scott Leventhal, the representative for free agent pitcher Jeff Suppan. Brewers/MLB Jeff Suppan will likely command a salary in the range of $10 million a season. Neither Attanasio, who lives and works in Los Angeles, nor general manager Doug Melvin was available for comment Wednesday night. Tyler Barnes, the club's vice president for communications, said he could not comment on whether the meeting took place. Melvin, who originally stated his interest in Suppan last week, said on Monday he was contemplating putting an offer together for Suppan, a veteran right-hander who pitched the past three seasons for the St. Louis Cardinals. The fact that Attanasio took part in the meeting with Leventhal indicates the Brewers are serious about signing Suppan. In all likelihood, the club made its initial offer at that meeting. ESPN.com reported that Suppan has two four-year offers on the table - one from the Brewers and another from an undisclosed club. That club could be Pittsburgh, which has stated strong interest in Suppan, but the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals and New York Mets also are in the picture. ESPN.com also reported that Levanthal met in Southern California with a front-office contingent from the Mets. That group included team president Jeff Wilpon and general manager Omar Minaya. The Mets' contingent originally traveled to California to meet with Scott Boras, the representative for left-hander Barry Zito, considered the top free agent pitcher on the market. The Mets are making a strong push to sign Zito but apparently have interest in Suppan as Plan B. Levanthal told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week he didn't think Suppan would sign until Zito strikes a deal, leaving Suppan as the top pitcher on the free agent market. Suppan, who will be 32 on Jan. 2, was 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA in 32 starts for the Cardinals last season. He allowed one run in 15 innings in two starts against the Mets in the NLCS, including the decisive Game 7, and was named most valuable player in that series. Leventhal did not return telephone messages but is believed to be seeking a deal for at least four years for Suppan. Taking into account contracts signed by free agent pitchers Gil Meche (five years, $55 million with Kansas City) and Ted Lilly (four years, $40 million with the Chicago Cubs), Suppan probably will command a yearly salary in the neighborhood of $10 million. The Brewers have an open spot in their starting rotation behind Ben Sheets, Chris Capuano, Dave Bush and Claudio Vargas. Suppan compiled a 44-26 record over the past three years and has averaged 203 innings per season since 1999. Melvin said in his early discussions with Leventhal that Suppan was receptive to coming to Milwaukee. www.jsonline.com/story/in...?id=544595 latest from Mke JS EDIT: Remember to always add a link when posting a story, thanks. -PF