Padres Reject Raines’ Contract Offer

The Padres on Tuesday finally heard a contract proposal from Tim Raines’ agent, and they promptly turned it down.

Ballard Smith, the Padre president, said he plans to make a counter-proposal sometime this week.

“If I’d said yes to what they were looking for today, would they have signed with San Diego? They probably would have, I suppose,” Smith said. “But I doubt anybody will say yes to what they said today. . . . Obviously, it was not something we could agree to.”

Raines’ agent, Tom Reich, asked for a contract worth approximately $5.2 million over three years, according to sources. Smith would not comment on any salary figures, and Reich did not return telephone messages Tuesday.

Raines already had turned down a three-year, $4.8-million offer from the Montreal Expos. The Padres are the only team Reich has contacted about Raines, but Smith believes Reich will be in touch with more teams in the upcoming weeks. “I don’t think it (a signing) will happen very quickly,” he said.