Top Padre Pick Chooses Olympics

Two time zones away Sunday, the Padres suffered a loss perhaps as bad as anything that could have happened to them at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

The Padres’ No. 1 draft pick, junior pitcher Andy Benes of the University of Evansville (Ind.), reported to the Olympic tryout camp at Millington, Tenn., making official what the Padres have been unofficially worrying about since they picked him:

He will play on the Olympic team this summer and fall, which means Benes’ arrival to the Padres will be delayed at least until next spring. Also worrisome is that fact that Benes has not yet signed.

“We will not stand between any young man and the flag,” Padre farm director Tom Romenesko said. “But we would like to at least get him signed as soon as possible, and are making every effort to do so.”

If Benes decided, for example, to return to Evansville for his senior year, or remain unsigned for any other reason before next spring’s draft, he would be eligible to be picked by another professional team.

It appears unlikely that the Padres won’t sign Benes, but they figure the longer he stays unsigned, the more he may consider other alternatives. Benes’ representative, Phil Byers, characterizes it as “an outside possibility” that Benes wouldn’t sign.

“Things are progressing well, but we have no timetable,” said Byers, an Evansville businessman who is Benes’ father-in-law.

The Padres have offered Benes up to $40,000 more than the $165,000 bonus given last year’s national top pick, Ken Griffey Jr. of the Seattle Mariners, according to team sources. But Byers, who won’t allow the Padres even to talk to Benes for fear that the 20-year-old would lose his final season of college eligibility, has not responded.

“We have to be very careful how we do things,” said Byers, who wants to ensure that Benes keeps his eligibility in the unlikely event negotiations fail. “The NCAA has a lot of rules about these things.” Signing would have no affect on Benes’ Olympic eligibility.

Said Romenesko: “In a lot of ways, our hands are tied. But the lines of communication are open, and we are confident something will happen.”