Prize Left-Hander Langston Grants Audience to Padres

Mark Langston, the free-agent left-handed starter who is being wooed by almost half of the teams in baseball, agreed Friday to a private meeting next week in Los Angeles with Padre Manager Jack McKeon when his agent opens negotiations with the team.

Fred Lane, the Padres’ Chicago-based attorney, is scheduled to travel in Los Angeles early next week and begin contract negotiations with agent Arn Tellem. In a separate meeting, Langston is scheduled to talk with McKeon, Tellem said, to discuss baseball philosophy.

“Arn told me that Mark thinks very highly of Jack McKeon,” Lane said, “and that’s why he wants to meet him.”

Said McKeon: “I look forward to talking to him, and as you know, I’d sure love to have him on our club.”

There are at least 10 teams, Tellem said, that have expressed interest in Langston. Tellem will meet with most of them next week, but said there is no timetable as to when Langston will make his decision.

Langston, 29, who was born in San Diego and raised in the Bay Area, is expected to become the highest-paid pitcher in baseball. Those considered to be involved in heavy bidding besides the Padres are the Dodgers, Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, San Francisco Giants and Montreal Expos.

Who his top choice is depends on who you listen to.

Many will tell you it’s the Dodgers, considering that his wife is pursing an acting career. Others will tell you the Padres, because of the city. And some will say the Cardinals, with their spacious ballpark.

“All I can tell you is that he wants to play for a contender,” Tellem said.

Said McKeon: “I just hope it’s us.”

Before the Padres begin negotiations with Langston, however, they hope to have their own free-agent pitcher--left-handed reliever Mark Davis--under contract.

The Padres made a new proposal to Davis Friday, offering him a guaranteed three-year contract, sources said, for about $6 million. It would give Davis the most lucrative contract on the club, exceeding the $5.25 million for three years obtained last December by free-agent starter Bruce Hurst.

This was the third offer the Padres have made to Davis since the season’s conclusion, the second since Oct. 30, when Davis filed for free agency. It was made after Alan Hendricks, Davis’ agent, telephoned Lane on Friday and said that they were looking for an increase from the Padres’ last proposal.

“He called me, and he stated their position,” Lane said, “and I stated our position. I then gave them a new proposal, and he said he will get back to me.”

Is Lane optimistic that Davis will accept the offer?

“No,” he said.

“Frankly, I don’t think they’re going to do anything unless Mark decided they’re going to do something. I don’t think there’s any reason for them not to take our proposal, but I still think they’re inclined to wait.”

Teams can begin negotiations with free agents at 10 a.m. (PST) Monday. Davis will be in New York that day to receive his trophy as the Rolaids relief pitcher of the year in the National League, and Hendricks said he is sure there will be plenty of interest.

But of the 84 players who have filed for free agency, no one figures to be paid as handsomely as Langston. Although his 86-76 career record hardly is dazzling, this is a pitcher who led the American League in strikeouts for three seasons while playing for the Seattle Mariners, who have never had a winning season.

Langston was traded by the Mariners to Montreal on May 25 after rejecting a three-year, $7.1-million contract. He was 12-9 with a 2.39 ERA in four months with the Expos, but when they attempted to sign him, Langston reportedly turned down a three-year, $9 million contract.

So just how much will it cost the Padres to sign Langston now?

“I don’t know,” Lane said, “that’s what we’re about to find out.”