Trade Sends Worthington to Padres from Baltimore

The Padres aren’t making any promises. They aren’t saying they found a third baseman that will make this town forget about Graig Nettles, much less Jim Presley.

But in an attempt to solidify their infield, the Padres on Monday acquired third baseman Craig Worthington and minor-league pitcher Tommy Martin from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for reliever Jim Lewis and minor-league outfielder Steve Martin.

“It’s one of those trades where I think we’ve got nothing to lose,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, “Jim Lewis didn’t figure to make our team, and the other kid (Martin) is a fringe player.

“I’m not saying Craig Worthington will definitely be our third baseman, but he’ll certainly be a candidate.”

But if Worthington reverts to the form of his rookie season of 1989, when he was selected The Sporting News’ American League Rookie of the Year, it could be one of those trades that will talked about in San Diego for a long, long time.

“I think the San Diego Padres are going to like what they see,” said Worthington, who’ll be 27 in April. “I’ve got new blood now. I’ve got new life. Believe me, I plan to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Worthington, a 6-foot, 200-pound right-handed hitter, will compete with Tim Teufel and Scott Coolbaugh for the starting third base job. Worthington is the best defensive player of the trio, and if he doesn’t falter offensively, could be the leading candidate for the job. If Worthington wins the starting job, and the Padres sign free-agent second baseman Kurt Stillwell--which could occur as early as today--Teufel probably would become their top utility player.

“We know (Worthington) is not the answer to all our prayers, and he’s not going to be the answer at the No. 5 spot (in the batting order),” said John Barr, Padre assistant general manager. “But he could be exactly what we’re looking for.”

Barr was in the Oriole front office during Worthington’s first two major league seasons. In his rookie season, Worthington batted .247 with 15 homers and 70 RBIs. But he slipped to .226 with eight homers and 44 RBIs in 1990 and lost his starting job in 1991.

“He went through a time where he lost confidence in his bat,” Barr said. “Hopefully, we can get that back.”

Worthington, who grew up in Pico Rivera, and lives in Fullerton, believes the change of scenery will be the elixir that’s needed for his career to flourish. He fell out of favor with Frank Robinson, former Oriole manager, when he showed up late to spring training in 1990. He lost his job last year to Leo Gomez, with two hamstring injuries restricting him to 31 games with the Orioles.

“He would have been given a shot for the job in spring training,” said Robinson, who engineered the trade for the Orioles, “but we thought this would work our better for the ballclub and Craig Worthington. He has the opportunity to be the everyday third baseman in San Diego, and we get pitching help, so it’s a good situation for both parties.”

The Padres, who used seven third basemen last season and watched them bat a cumulative .194, have been trying to acquire Worthington the past two seasons. They had several trade discussions last winter with the Orioles, but Baltimore wanted pitchers Ricky Bones, Rafael Valdez and Rich Rodriguez in return. The Padres were willing to part only with Valdez and Rodriguez. The clubs resumed trade talks in January, and 16 telephone conversations later--by McIlvaine’s count--they were able to reach an agreement.

“I was hoping and praying something would happen this winter,” Worthington. “I didn’t want to go through the same thing again. I’ve got no hard feelings, but I can’t believe I would have had a real chance to start for that team.

“Now the Padres are going to give me a legitimate shot.”

Lewis, 27, has the opportunity to be the third Padre player to make the Orioles’ roster this spring. The Orioles already drafted outfielder Darrell Sherman during the winter meetings, and signed free agent pitcher Dennis Rasmussen. Lewis, who made his major league debut last year, was 0-0 in 12 games with a 4.15 ERA.

Tommy Martin, a 21-year-old left-hander, will be assigned to the Padres’ Class A High Desert team. He 4-10 with a 3.64 ERA, striking out 106 in 99 innings for Class A Kane County team in the Midwest League. Steve Martin, a 24-year-old outfielder, will be assigned to the Orioles’ AAA Rochester team. He batted .268 with seven homers, 58 RBIs and stole 42 bases last season for High Desert.