Davis Says No to Offer by Padres

Mark Davis has rejected the Padres’ latest contract offer, agent Alan Hendricks said Thursday, and is considering delaying any decision until at least Nov. 14, when all major league teams are allowed to enter the negotiations.

“I’m a little concerned that they’ll wait because they want to see what’s really out there,” said Fred Lane, the attorney who is handling the negotiations for the Padres with attorney Beth Benes. “But there’s not much we can do right now. The ball’s in their court. We’re waiting for a proposal from them. We’re not going to bid against ourselves.”

The Padres have made two offers to Davis, the latest on Tuesday for what sources say is a three-year guaranteed contract for about $7 million. The only counter-offer was made weeks ago, and Lane described it as “a truly ridiculous proposal.”

“There’s no question we exchanged figures,” Lane said, “but they still haven’t come back with a reasonable offer. I just have a hunch they’ll test the free-agent market, and until they do, they really can’t come back with a figure.”

Davis, who led the big leagues with 44 saves this past season as the Padres’ bullpen stopper, filed for free-agency Monday but must wait a mandatory 15 days before negotiating or signing with another club. In the meantime, Davis and Hendricks can only talk with teams other than the Padres to determine interest.

“We might negotiate with the Padres again (before Nov. 14), or we might not,” Hendricks said from his Houston office. “We’re just going to have to wait and see. It’s not productive for Mark, for the Padres, for us, or for other teams to tell you what we’re going to do.

“All I can tell you is we are not going to accept the Padres’ latest offer, and if nothing is resolved by Nov. 13, we’ll be on the phone at noon Central Standard Time (the next day) talking to all other teams.”

The Padres, of course, would like to finalize negotiations with Davis as quickly as possible so that they can immediately delve into the free-agent market and pursue left-handed starter Mark Langston.

Lane telephoned Arn Tellem, Langston’s agent, on Thursday, and they agreed to begin negotiations in about two weeks.

The Padre front office examined the rest of the free-agent marketplace Thursday and said that they might also pursue one of the available center fielders, such as Mookie Wilson of Toronto and Kevin Bass of Houston. But first, they will explore trade possibilities with the Cleveland Indians for center fielder Joe Carter and with the Boston Red Sox for Ellis Burks.

The Padres also decided that they likely will leave Jack Clark at first base, abandoning any efforts to pursue free-agent first baseman Keith Hernandez.