Padres Trying to Grab Orioles’ Worthington : Baseball: Baltimore would get to select two pitchers from a list of three candidates. The Orioles still are considering the deal.

The Padres have offered a package of pitchers to the Baltimore Orioles in an attempt to acquire third baseman Craig Worthington, sources said.

According to a source who sat in during the trade negotiations, the Padres’ proposal included a list of three pitchers, two of whom the Orioles can select. The Orioles have their choice of left-handers Derek Lilliquist and Rich Rodriguez, and right-hander Rafael Valdez.

The Orioles are deliberating whether to accept the deal, according to a club official who asked not to be named. They have great interest in Lilliquist but are unsure about Valdez and Rodriguez.

Worthington, The Sporting News’ rookie of the year in 1989, batted just .226 with eight homers and 44 RBIs this past season. Yet, McIlvaine attributed the drop to a sophomore jinx and said he considered Worthington to be one of the finest defensive third basemen in the American League.

“I think this is our greatest need right now,” McIlvaine said. “We’d like to find a third baseman, and it’s going to have to be by trade, because there aren’t any on the free-agent market that interest us.”

The Padres also have decided to pursue right-handed reliever Larry Andersen, a second-look free agent, a source said. He becomes the Padres’ top choice on the free-agent market, replacing starter Teddy Higuera, who re-signed Wednesday night with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Although he’s 37, Andersen still is considered one of the league’s finest right-handed setup men. He was 5-2 with a 1.79 ERA with the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox this past season, yielding only 79 hits in 95 2/3 innings.

The stickiest aspect of acquiring Andersen is the salary he might command. He earned $1.065 million this past season, and considering that free-agent reliever Ken Dayley recently received a three-year, $6.3 million contract from the Toronto Blue Jays, it’s conceivable that Andersen would command more. He also is expected to be sought by the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.

Meanwhile, after many hours of deliberation, the Padres have decided to offer arbitration rights to free-agent pitcher Dennis Rasmussen. The Padres had offered Rasmussen a contract late Thursday night, which he rejected, and decided at the last minute to protect his rights by offering arbitration.

Rasmussen, who earned $802,500 this past season, has until Dec. 19 to accept or reject arbitration rights. If Rasmussen rejects the offer, the Padres have a Jan. 7 deadline to sign him or lose his rights until May 1.

The Detroit Tigers are one of several teams that has expressed interest in Rasmussen, but no offers have been made.

Another second-look free agent, Padre first baseman Jack Clark, has until Jan. 29 to negotiate with teams. He is expected to get attention from the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox.

If he signs with another club, the Padres will be provided a sandwich pick after the first round of the 1991 June free-agent draft.

“The Padres made their decision,” Tom Reich, Clark’s agent said, “and we’ve accepted that we have to go somewhere else. But there will be plenty of interest, believe me.”

There was no new activity in the Padres’ quest to acquire power-hitting outfielder Danny Tartabull. Their attempted acquisition of Tartabull already has become quite complex, sources said. A variety of players have been discussed, and several proposals are on the table. It’s even possible that if the Padres fail to obtain Worthington and Andersen, they could satisfy all their needs simply by dealing with the Royals.

The Padres have expressed interest obtaining third baseman Kevin Seitzer and right-handed reliever Jeff Montgomery. The Royals, who insist that Bip Roberts, infielder/outfielder, be included in the trade, have inquired about the availability of pitcher Greg Harris, backup catcher Mark Parent, backup first baseman Jerald Clark, and utility infielder Joey Cora (who recently suffered a broken left ankle).