Padre Payroll Projected to Reach $28.6 Million : Baseball: Werner, who says team lost “a significant amount” in ‘91, girds for another season in the red.

It invariably winds up as the topic of conversation each day in the Padre clubhouse. Fans constantly talk about it in the stands. General managers discuss it in all of their trade conversations.

The subject is money.

Money is the reason the Padres are trying to trade catcher Benito Santiago to the Toronto Blue Jays. Money is the reason they are shopping reliever Craig Lefferts. Money is the reason the Padres did not sign Danny Tartabull or any big free agent. Money is why the Padres are picked to finish no higher than fourth in the National League West.

It’s also why the Padre ownership predict they’ll finish in the red, once again.

The Padres’ major league payroll projects to be a franchise-record $28.6 million this season--an increase of 22.7% over their 1991 payroll of $23.3 million--according to salary information obtained by The Times from sources within the Major League Players Assn. and the Player Relations Committee.

The Padres currently have nine players who will earn at least $1.5 million this season, and for the first time, will have two players earning at least $3 million--first baseman Fred McGriff ($3.75 million) and Santiago ($3.3 million).

The average salary for the Padres’ 25-man roster this season is expected to be $1,102,346. Their average salary a year ago was $709,359.

“Owning a baseball team is wild,” said Tom Werner, Padre chairman. “It’s like the E-ride at Disneyland. I didn’t imagine player payrolls would escalate to the level they have.

“There’s going to be a day of reckoning, but I don’t know when that is.”

The Padres’ payroll escalated primarily because of five players. They acquired reliever Randy Myers ($2.35 million) and second baseman Kurt Stillwell ($1.75 million). Santiago won his arbitration case, jumping from $1.65 million to $3.3 million. And pitcher Bruce Hurst and McGriff each received raises of at least $1 million.

The Padres also will pay $500,000 apiece to Tony Gwynn and McGriff this season as part of their signing bonuses of a year ago, according to sources.

“We lost a significant amount of money last year,” Werner said, “and we’re going to lose money again this year. It’s a given.”

The Padres dearly want to cut their losses, and trading Santiago and Lefferts would be a step. The Padres have had continuing discussion with the Blue Jays since Thursday in a deal that would send Santiago to Toronto in exchange for catcher Pat Borders and either a young outfielder or pitcher. They also have had several talks with other teams in an effort to trade Lefferts, who this spring has outperformed the Padre starters.

“It’s a shame how finances have become a necessary evil,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “In a trade situation, value for value has become the third priority. The first is a players’ contract. The second is the length of contract. Only the third is value for value.

“It’s not like trading baseball cards any more, believe me.”

Said Lefferts: “If that’s what the game’s coming down to, that’s a sad commentary. If teams want to think that way, they’re not going to win, believe me.”

However, the Padres certainly are not unique in their approach. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who have won the National League East the past two years, slowly are dismantling their team. They couldn’t afford to keep Bobby Bonilla, they traded 20-game winner John Smiley for two prospects, and they released reliever Bill Landrum.

“I don’t get it,” Hurst said. “The Cubs are the ones who sign Ryne Sandberg, and the Pirates are the ones getting rid of all their players. Explain that one to me.

“I don’t know if I believe all of this gloom and doom, anyway. If there really is financial distress, I’d like to see it. Let’s open the books so everyone can see.

“All of the owners in baseball are very bright businessmen who made their money by making good business decisions. So if that’s the case, why would owners would spend more money than they have, unless they really have it and aren’t telling.”

Really, it doesn’t matter whether the players believe the talk of Armageddon and financial ruin, anyway. They listen to the owners complain about the state of the game, and the complaints are getting louder by the day,.

Don Fehr, head of the Major League Players Assn., is warning players to be prepared for a long lockout next spring. The owners have the right to re-open the Basic Agreement this winter, one year before the end of their contract, and players are beginning to believe they could be in for a long winter.

“I don’t think anyone knows what will happen,” said Padre veteran Mark Knudson. “It seems silly to give out there salaries and cry poor, but that’s what’s happening.

“Everything’s getting crazy right now.”

Said McGriff: “I think the scariest part is that no player is safe anymore. We all can be traded because of our contracts. Before, if you played well, they’d keep you. Now, you could do everything right, and still get traded.

“Hey, I wouldn’t be surprised if I got traded. They can lose with me, so they certainly can lose without me.”

McIlvaine says he’s not about to trade McGriff, but did concede that teams can provide million-dollar contracts only to their star players, leaving the rest to fend for themselves.

“Clubs have always wanted to be fair with their players,” McIlvaine said, “but it’s no longer about being fair. It’s about survival. If teams want to survive, they have to regulate things.

“It’ll going to be just like society, the middle class will be squeezed.”

1992 Padre Player Payroll Player: Larry Andersen 1992 Contract: $1.5 million Extras: $25,000 for any All-Star team; $50,000 Rolaids (1st); $25,000 Rolaids (2nd); $50,000 LCS/World Series MVP. Player: Oscar Azocar 1992 Contract: $120,000/$100,000 Extras: Player: Andy Benes 1992 Contract: $475,000 Extras: Player: Dann Bilardello 1992 Contract: $125,000 Extras: Player: Ricky Bones 1992 Contract: $122,500/$53,000 Extras: Player: Jerald Clark 1992 Contract: $200,000 Extras: Player: Dave Eiland 1992 Contract: $135,000/$70,000 Extras: Player: Paul Faries 1992 Contract: $122,500/$86,000 Extras: Player: Tony Fernandez 1992 Contract: $2.1 million Extras: Player: Tony Gwynn 1992 Contract: $2 million Extras: $25,000 for All-Star; $100,000 for MVP ($50,000 for second through fifth); $100,000 for World Series MVP; $100,000 for LCS MVP. Limited no-trade clause. Player: Greg Harris 1992 Contract: $1.050 million Extras: Includes $50,000 signing bonus. Player: Thomas Howard 1992 Contract: $158,000 Extras: Player: Bruce Hurst 1992 Contract: $2.75 million Extras: $100,000 for Cy Young; $100,000 for MVP; $50,000 for LCS MVP; $75,000 for World Series MVP; $25,000 for All-Star. Limited no-trade clause. Player: Darrin Jackson 1992 Contract: $805,000 Extras: Player: Mark Knudson 1992 Contract: $180,000/$75,000 Extras: Player: Tom Lampkin 1992 Contract: $116,500/$80,000 Extras: Player: Craig Lefferts 1992 Contract: $1.875 million Extras: $75,000 for Cy Young ($25,000 for 2nd or 3rd); $75,000 for Rolaids ($25,000 for 2nd or 3rd); $25,000 for All-Star; $50,000 for MVP; $50,000 for LCS MVP; $50,000 for World Series MVP. Player: Mike Maddux 1992 Contract: $510,000 Extras: Player: Fred McGriff 1992 Contract: $3.75 million Extras: $100,000 for MVP; $50,000 for LCS/MVP; $100,000 for World Series MVP; $50,000 for GoldGlove; $50,000 for Silver Slugger; $25,000 for All-Star. Limited no-trade clause. Player: Jose Melendez 1992 Contract: $150,000/$75,000 Extras: Player: Randy Myers 1992 Contract: $2.35 million Extras: Player: Rich Rodriguez 1992 Contract: $175,000 Extras: Player: Benito Santiago 1992 Contract: $3.3 million Extras: Player: Craig Shipley 1992 Contract: $117,500/$55,000 Extras: Player: Kurt Stillwell 1992 Contract: $1.75 million Extras: $10,000 if he plays 135 games/500 plate appearances; $20,000 for 145 games/550 plateappearances; $20,000 for 155 games/600 plate appearances. Player: Tim Teufel 1992 Contract: $750,000 Extras: Includes $125,000 signing bonus. $25,000 if he plays in 120 games/350 plate appearances; 130 games/400 plate appearances. Player: Jim Vatcher 1992 Contract: $115,000/$61,000 Extras: Player: Kevin Ward 1992 Contract: $114,000/52,500 Extras: Player: Ed Whitson 1992 Contract: $1 million Extras: $50,000 for Cy Young ($35,000 for second; $25,000 for third); $25,000 for All-Star. Player: Craig Worthington 1992 Contract: $235,000 Extras: Note: Salaries separated by a slash denote split contracts, the higher figure applying when the player is in the major leagues, the lower when he is in the minors.

Information was obtained from sources within the Major League Players Assn. and Players Relation Committee.