Padres, Gwynn Near Agreement on Extension : Baseball: All-Star outfielder would be paid nearly $12 million over three years.

The Padres will attempt to reach an agreement today with All-Star outfielder Tony Gwynn on a three-year contract extension, according to a source, that will pay him nearly $12 million.

The Padres have offered Gwynn a two-year extension with an option worth $11 million, according to a Padre source, but Gwynn wants the third year of the extension to be guaranteed and desires a no-trade clause. The Padres have balked at the no-trade clause, but, according to the source, they might be willing to guarantee all three years and raise the value of the package to between $11.5 million and $12 million.

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, plans to meet today with John Boggs, Gwynn’s agent, to propose the latest offer. Although it’s possible a deal could be finalized today, sources say it likely would not be consummated before Thursday or Friday.

“We should know something (today), one way or the other,” Gwynn said. “We’re not that far apart. The numbers are almost there. We just have to haggle with some language.

“We have to be comfortable with the deal, and so do they.”

McIlvaine said: “We’re going to try to get this thing done. We’ve made an offer to them and they have come back with an offer to us. We’ve been shadow boxing to this point, but we hope to get much more specific now.”

The extension would go into effect in 1993, after Gwynn’s current contract expires. He is entering the first year of a two-year contract negotiated in 1988 that will pay him $2 million this season, and $2 million in 1992. Although Padre officials concede that Gwynn’s current contract is antiquated, they refuse to renegotiate, and have discussed only an extension.

“I’m hopeful something can be worked out,” Boggs said, “but until they prove to us that it’s an offer that’s fair, and one we can’t refuse, the jury’s still out whether something can be accomplished.”

This is the first time, however, that the Padre organization has been willing to discuss an extension since Gwynn’s addendum in 1988. When Gwynn broached the subject a few years ago, Chub Feeney, then Padre president, blew cigar smoke in his face. A year ago, Jerry Kapstein, chief operating officer, yelled at him over the telephone and refused a face-to-face meeting.

But within days after becoming majority owner of the Padres last June, Tom Werner vowed to Gwynn that his contract situation would be addressed. And after signing pitcher Bruce Hurst to a two-year extension worth $6.4 million two weeks ago, and new first baseman Fred McGriff to a four-year, $15.25 million contract a week ago, Werner and McIlvaine have now set their sights on Gwynn.

Gwynn has won four batting titles and four Gold Glove awards. He has a career .329 batting average and has been in the Padre organization since 1981, the longest tenure of any active player.

“They still hold all the cards,” said Gwynn, who’ll turn 31 in May. “I can’t hold a gun to their head. It’s nice that we’re talking, but we’ll just have to see what happens. Hopefully, it’ll be done this week.”

Gwynn’s leverage is that he is eligible for free agency after the 1992 season, a time when two expansion franchises also could enter the bidding.

Although there’s no deadline in the negotiations, Boggs said Monday night that Gwynn would like the situation resolved by March 1--opening day of spring training for Padre position players.

“We really don’t want to go to spring training and still be involved in discussions,” Boggs said. “Tony doesn’t want this thing lingering into spring training. He just wants to get it done one way or the other and concentrate on the season.”

McIlvaine said: “We’d like to get it done by the end of the week, for Tony’s sake and the ballclub’s sake. I’d like to have it done by the start of spring training.”