Argyros Envisions Garvey in Front Office

George Argyros, the Padres’ prospective owner, said Friday that he would consider naming Padre first baseman Steve Garvey to a front-office position.

However, Argyros said during the telephone interview from his office in Newport Beach that he has no immediate plans to talk to Garvey.

Garvey, whose contract expires after this season, said if he was offered the right front-office job, he might retire after this season.

“I’d like to think of it (a front-office job) as an option,” said Garvey, who has also expressed a desire to play in 1988 and possibly in 1989. “It’s a very stimulating thought to be able to implement my ideas and to make the (Padre) organization as strong as it can be.”

Until Argyros sells the Seattle Mariners--the team he currently owns--he cannot have any contact with Padre players and coaches. Last weekend, baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth fined him $10,000 for making a congratulatory phone call to Padre Manager Larry Bowa.

“I don’t anticipate making any changes in the front office at this time,” Argyros said Friday. “And I don’t want to intimate that I’ve even investigated it enough to know--because I haven’t--but I like Jack McKeon (Padre general manager) very much and Dick Freeman (Padre chief operating officer) very much.

“(And) I like Steve very much. He’s a good guy. I have a high regard for him. Sure, I’d consider it, but it would depend really on Jack McKeon, too. As far as I’m concerned, I like Steve, he’s been in baseball a long time, he knows the game. He has a lot of value in baseball.”