Padres Await Reply on Tartabull : Baseball: McIlvaine seeks power-hitting outfielder from the Kansas City Royals. Tartabull says he’d love to play in San Diego.

The Padres made a trade proposal Thursday night to the Kansas City Royals in an attempt to acquire power-hitting outfielder Danny Tartabull, a source confirmed, and are awaiting a response.

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, would not divulge specifics of the trade proposal, saying there are several, but revealed the teams had trade discussions involving Tartabull.

The Royals, according to a source, provided permission this week for the Padres to speak with Tartabull and his agent, Dennis Gilbert, to discuss Tartabull’s interest in a trade.

When reached at his home in Malibu, Calif., Tartabull said: “It’s no secret I want to play there. To me, it’s the best place to be. It’d be close to home, I love the ballpark, and I want to play for (Padre manager) Greg Riddoch.

“I’m sitting on pins and needles hoping it’ll come through. I thought my chance of going there was done when they traded Joe (Carter), but I guess it still has a chance.

“God, I hope so.”

Tartabull, 28, long has been attractive to the Padres. Jack McKeon, who was fired two months ago as the Padre general manager, has attempted to trade for him the past three seasons. And McIlvaine attempted to trade for Tartabull in 1986 when Tartabull played for the Seattle Mariners.

Although hampered by hamstring and groin injuries the past two years, Tartabull is considered one of baseball’s top power-hitting outfielders. He hit 60 homers and drove in 203 runs during the 1987 and 1988 seasons. But the past two seasons, during which he missed 103 games, he combined for 33 homers and 102 RBIs.

“I really like him,” McIlvaine said. “He can hit. He can drive in runs. He’s got a great ratio of RBIs to hits. What’s not to like?”

Said Riddoch: “Man, would I like to have him. He’d be great for our ballclub. We’d stick him in left field, and let him deal.”

The Padres’ dilemma in acquiring Tartabull, 28, is that he is eligible to file for free agency at the end of the 1991 season. It’s a similar to a year ago when they traded for Carter, conditional on Carter signing a multi-year contract.

In their private meeting this week, Gilbert also expressed Tartabull’s interest in the Padres, almost pleading for the Padres to make a trade offer. Gilbert also met two hours with Herk Robinson, Royal general manager, informing him that Tartabull will not re-sign with the Royals after the 1991 season.

Tartabull earned $1.6 million this past season and is eligible for arbitration, where he’s expected to submit an offer of $1.8 to $2.2 million.

The Padres’ specific proposals to the Royals remain unknown, although an American League general manager revealed Thursday that the Padres offered infielder/outfielder Bip Roberts and were turned down down.

Yet, the Padres made another proposal late Thursday night, possibly including right-hander Greg Harris, and were awaiting a response from the Royals. Robinson was unavailable for comment.

The Royals, however, continue to show vast interest in Roberts. They are seeking a leadoff hitter, preferably a second baseman or third baseman, and have talked about several other players besides Tartabull.

Yes, Bo Jackson, Raider running back and Royal left fielder, is mentioned in one of the Padres’ proposals.

But yet . . .

“That is the longest of longshots,” McIlvaine said.

If provided the choice, who would McIlvaine desire?

“Tartabull is the better player right now,” he said, “but Jackson has unlimited potential.”

The Padres also have proposals, a Royal club official revealed, that include third baseman Kevin Seitzer and right-handed reliever Jeff Montgomery.

Seitzer, 28, batted .275 this past season for the Royals with six homers and 38 RBIs. Montgomery, who beat out Mark Davis for the bullpen stopper’s job, saved 24 games and was 6-5 with 2.39 ERA.

“We’ve got several possibilities,” one Royal official said, “but we’re not trading Montgomery.”

One of the obstacles that could delay the Padres’ bid in acquiring Tartabull is the Raiders’ season. The Royals are hesitant in making a trade involving Tartabull until the Raider season ends, making sure Jackson is healthy.

“I think they want to see what happens in the NFL,” McIlvaine said, “and I can’t blame them. But they know our interests and what we’re looking for.

“He’ll (Robinson) make up his mind when he’s ready. He’ll do what he wants to do.”

McIlvaine said the Padres also have dicussed a trade with the Baltimore Orioles in an attempt to acquire third baseman Craig Worthington and possibly right-handed reliever Mark Williamson. Worthington, who was selected Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News in 1989, batted just .226 with eight homers and 44 RBIs this past season. The Orioles, according to a member of their coaching staff, are seeking Roberts in return.

The Padres also made a contract offer Thursday night to left-handed starter Dennis Rasmussen, who filed for free agency after going 11-15 this season with the Padres. McIlvaine said that he is expected to learn today whether Rasmussen will accept the offer.

If Rasmussen turns down their offer, the Padres have the option of offering him arbitration. Yet McIlvaine is reluctant to offer arbitration, realizing that if accepted, Rasmussen could receive an award of as much as $1.5 million in a hearing.

If the Padres refuse to offer arbitration, they lose their rights to negotiate with him until May 1 and will receive no compensation if he signs with another team.

McIlvaine already has determined that he will not offer arbitration to free-agent left-handed hitter Fred Lynn and free-agent third baseman Mike Pagliarulo, effectively ending their brief careers with the Padres.

The Padres also had trade discussions Thursday with the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos. Sources said the Padres inquired about third baseman Gregg Jefferies of the Mets, right-handed reliever Rick Aguilera of the Twins and outfielder Tim Raines of Montreal. Yet McIlvaine conceded it’s highly unlikely they could work a deal with the Mets or Expos, although he still will continue to talk with the Twins about Aguilera.

If the Padres are to acquire a left fielder, a void created by the departure of Wednesday of Joe Carter--in the trade that sent Carter and Roberto Alomar to Toronto for shortstop Tony Fernandez and first baseman Fred McGriff--McIlvaine acknowledged that it would have to be via a trade. He also said he’d have to fill the vacancy at third base with a trade, and is uninterested in any free-agent third basemen, including probable second-look free agent Gary Gaetti of the Twins.

It’s possible, of course, that the Padres could wind up keeping Roberts. If he stays, McIlvaine said, Roberts will be the starting second baseman.

“That would be a feasible spot for Bip to play every day,” McIlvaine said. “He’s just not a prototype third baseman.”

McIlvaine and his assistant, John Barr, are scheduled to leave the winter meetings today and will return to San Diego.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens from there,” McIlvaine said.