By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

NEW ORLEANS - Dan O'Brien's first day at his first Winter Meetings as the Reds' general manager wasn't the type of day that will make a splash on ESPN.

Friday was dominated by staff meetings. Scouting assignments were made. There was some talk about whom the club might pick in Monday's Rule 5 Draft. And there was some discussion about hiring coaches to complete Dave Miley's staff.

Not really blockbuster stuff, eh?

O'Brien says it will get more interesting.

"A lot of teams are just getting here," he said. "We haven't had any formal talks. But our four scouts have been out in force."

The Reds are looking for the same thing most teams seek: starting pitching.

The Reds want to improve the rotation through trades and free agency. They are not in the running for free agents Greg Maddux or Sidney Ponson. They aren't going to trade for Kevin Brown, even if the trade with the Yankees falls apart.

In whom might they be interested? Jeff Suppan and Freddy Garcia?

"Of course," O'Brien said. "But the last I checked, Freddy was a member of the Seattle Mariners. Suppan is out there."

Sterling Hitchcock?

"That's an interesting name," O'Brien said. "But there are quite a number of players I'd say that about."

Suppan and Hitchcock are free agents. Garcia is clearly on the block and could be a free agent should Seattle not offer him arbitration. All three are veterans and relatively affordable.

Garcia is a good pitcher coming off a bad year. He was 12-14 with a 4.51 ERA last season. But he was 16-10 with a 4.39 ERA in 2002 and 18-6 with a 3.05 ERA in '01.

Suppan had the best year of his career last season. He was 10-7 with a 3.57 ERA with Pittsburgh before being traded to Boston. He was 3-4 with a 5.57 ERA with Boston. His career record, however, is 67-75.

Hitchcock, a left-hander, was St. Louis' best pitcher down the stretch. He went 5-1 with a 3.57 ERA after being traded from the Yankees.

Even the aforementioned trio might be too expensive for the Reds. Right-hander Miguel Batista signed Friday with the Toronto Blue Jays for $13.1 million over three years. Batista was 10-9 with a 3.59 ERA with Arizona last year. His career record is 42-50.

O'Brien said the Reds are getting plenty of calls. That's understandable. In the new era of fiscal responsibility, young and cheap players such as Austin Kearns and Adam Dunn are going to get a lot of interest.

O'Brien made it clear that the Reds are looking for starting pitching. To wit: The Reds did not talk to Scott Sullivan before he signed with Kansas City.

"We're pretty comfortable with the bullpen," O'Brien said. "We have a lot of versatility. We have other priorities."

If the Reds add a reliever, it will be a left-hander. Phil Norton, who had a 2.45 ERA in 17 games with the Reds last year, is the only left-hander in the bullpen right now.

"In an ideal world, would we have two left-handers? Of course," O'Brien said.

To that end, the Reds might pursue free agent Kent Mercker. Mercker had a 1.95 ERA in 67 games with the Reds last year before they traded him to Atlanta. That Mercker lives in Columbus makes the Reds attractive.

"I've been told he enjoys pitching in Cincinnati," O'Brien said.

O'Brien said there's no chance the Reds will complete the coaching staff at the meetings.

Pitching coach Don Gullett is under contract and will be back. Bullpen coach Tom Hume will be back also, although details of his contract haven't been worked out. Mark Berry, Miley's bench coach, almost certainly will be back.

That leaves three openings. Ken Griffey Sr. is a candidate for hitting coach; he served in that role before he grew tired of Bob Boone's interference. He's willing to return, and he's popular with many of the Reds' hitters.

Marc Bombard, another former Reds coach, could return as third base coach or bench coach, depending on what Berry ends up doing.

E-mail jfay@enquirer.com