Tom Glavine’s return to the Braves could be getting closer.
Glavine’s agent, Gregg Clifton, will meet Wednesday with Braves general manager Frank Wren over lunch in Phoenix.
Clifton confirmed the meeting Tuesday night. Wren declined comment.
Glavine, who will be 42 next season, became a free agent when he turned down his part of a $13 million mutual option with the Mets.
The Mets have said they want Glavine back, but after earning his 300th win last season, the 21-year veteran might prefer to finish his career with the Braves, his team from 1987 to 2002. He and his family still live in Alpharetta, Ga.
The question is whether the Braves will make Glavine a strong enough offer to persuade him to change teams again. Glavine considered the Braves last off-season, but re-signed with the Mets for $7.5 million and the mutual option.
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The landscape, however, is different now than it was then.
Glavine’s relationship with former Braves G.M. John Schuerholz deteriorated after Glavine left for the Mets as a free agent, but Wren became G.M. after the season ended and Schuerholz moved up to club president.
In addition, Glavine likely will not be as adamant about receiving a no-trade clause as he was in his talks with the Braves a year ago, when he had not yet earned his 300th win. If the Braves traded Glavine next season, he could simply choose to retire.
Two other National League East teams — the Phillies and Nationals — are also believed to be interested in Glavine. However, the Phillies probably would enter the bidding only if it became clear that Glavine was not rejoining the Braves. The Nationals, meanwhile, would be a decided longshot.
Glavine went 13-8 with a 4.45 ERA last season, fading in his final three starts, but pitching 200 1/3 innings. The Braves want him to join a rotation that already includes right-handers John Smoltz and Tim Hudson and lefty Chuck James.
Lefty Mike Hampton, recovering from elbow surgery, is another possibility, as are two young pitchers, right-handers Jair Jurrjens and Jo-Jo Reyes.
