Padres Swap No. 2 Starter for a Cleanup Hitter in 7-Player Deal : Dravecky, Mitchell and Lefferts Traded to Giants for Chris Brown and 3 Pitchers

The Padres gave up their No. 2 starting pitcher Saturday night, but they believe they picked up a cleanup hitter when they traded starter Dave Dravecky, reliever Craig Lefferts and third baseman Kevin Mitchell to the San Francisco Giants for third baseman Chris Brown and pitchers Mark Grant, Mark Davis and Keith Comstock.

Brown, 25, will be the Padres’ starting third baseman and cleanup hitter today for the finale of a three-game series against the Expos. Grant, 23, a right-hander, will take Dravecky’s turn in the starting rotation in Monday’s game in Chicago. Davis, 26, and Comstock, 31, both left-handers, will go to the bullpen.

Brown, who brings with him a history of nagging injuries that teammates have sometimes questioned, also brings one of baseball’s best clutch bats. In his first two-plus seasons in the majors, he hit .293, and with runners in scoring position, his average was .355.

Including Saturday’s game, when he went 2 for 4 with a double and a home run, he has hit only .236 this season with 6 home runs and 17 runs batted in, after he missed 38 games with a broken jaw.

“I know he’s been having his problems, but he’s a quality player, and maybe a change from that environment will get him hitting again,” said Padre Manager Larry Bowa, who learned of the trade at 7:15 p.m. PDT, just after his club had been stunned by the Expos in Olympic Stadium, 4-3, on a ninth-inning homer by Hubie Brooks. “The way I see it, it was Dravecky for Brown, and a two-for-three deal with the others.”

As for the others, Grant, a former No. 1 draft pick who impressed Bowa in the Pacific Coast League last season, is 1-2 with a 3.54 earned-run average this season. Davis, who entered this season just 22-44 lifetime after both starting and relieving, is 4-5 with a 4.71 ERA. Comstock, who resurfaced in major league baseball this season after being cut by four countries , including the Yomiuri Giants in Japan last year, is 2-0 with a 3.26 ERA.

The Padres are giving the Giants a couple of arms that are at least equal to what they are getting, and they are giving up a bat that is the trade’s question mark.

In Dravecky, the Padres not only are losing a player who has spent the last 5 1/2 seasons with them (plus a sixth year in their minor league system), they are losing a pitcher with a lifetime ERA of 3.12 and record of 53-30. He is 3-7 this season with a 3.76 ERA, the second-lowest among Padre starters.

After 4 1/2 seasons with the Padres, Lefferts had an ERA of 3.06, but is 4.38 this season along with a 2-2 record.

In Mitchell, they are giving up someone they just obtained--in last winter’s eight-player deal that sent Kevin McReynolds to the New York Mets. However, despite two homers against the Dodgers as recently as Wednesday, Mitchell has hit just .244 with 26 RBIs and 7 homers for the Padres.

“I’m saying nothing,” said Mitchell as he left the clubhouse Saturday night.

Dravecky and Lefferts were a bit more sentimental.

“I always knew this might happen, but I never thought it would come true,” Dravecky said. “Right now, it’s very cloudy. I don’t know what to think. I am really going to miss San Diego. I mean, this has been my life in the majors. I’m going to miss everyone.

“If you’ll excuse me, I just need to get back (to the hotel) and go to sleep.”

Said Lefferts: “There is a little bit of a shock. Traded or not, San Diego is my home.”

WHO THE PADRES GOT

Name Team HR RBI AVG Chris Brown Giants 6 17 .236 W L ERA Keith Comstock Giants 2 0 3.26 Mark Davis Giants 4 5 4.71 Mark Grant Giants 1 2 3.54

Note: Statistics are from 1987 season.