Santiago Might Go to Braves : Baseball: Padres would get reliever, catcher. Trade could happen before opener.

The Padres are in midst of serious trade negotiations with the Braves to send All-Star catcher Benito Santiago to the Braves, sources say, possibly before opening day.

The Padres would receive left-handed reliever Kent Mercker and catcher Greg Olson, according to one source. Other players, such as minor-league catcher Tyler Houston or pitcher Pete Smith, might also be involved.

Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, confirmed that the Padres are talking to another club besides the Toronto Blue Jays about Santiago, but he would not specify the Braves.

“I can’t comment,” McIlvaine said, his facing breaking into a smile. “Let’s just leave it at that for now.”

Does he think the trade could be consummated by opening day?

“Let’s wait and see,” McIlvaine said. “I’ve already talked privately with Benny, and I’ll talk again with him before opening day.

“I can’t say right now whether something will happen before opening day or not,” McIlvaine said. “It’s possible, but there’s no guarantees.”

When contacted Wednesday night in West Palm Beach, Fla., Brave General Manager John Schuerholz would neither confirm nor deny that a deal is imminent.

“I can’t say right now,” Schuerholz said, “but anything’s possible. I’m not going to publicly discuss our business, but I’ve never gone through a spring training without making a trade.”

The Padres, according to team officials, have long coveted Mercker, 24. He was 5-3 with a 2.58 ERA last season for the Braves, yielding only 56 hits in 73 1/3 innings. Yet, because of the Braves’ deep bullpen, Mercker’s role is diminished.

Olson, 31, a defensive specialist, would likely be the catcher to replace Santiago for the season. He was in the Mets’ organization when McIlvaine was in their front-office, and last season had the finest year of his career, batting .241 with six homers and 44 RBIs.

The Padres, who have talked with the Blue Jays several times over the past 10 days about Santiago, appear to have hit a stalemate in those negotiations. The Padres continue to ask for catcher Ed Sprague and at least one prospect, sources confirmed Wednesday, but the Blue Jays refuse to part with Sprague.

The Padres’ urgency to trade Santiago before opening day is to satisfy Santiago’s request, and also spare themselves of paying any part of his $3.3-million salary. Santiago requested to be traded as quickly as possible in a meeting last week with McIlvaine, and McIlvaine promised he would oblige.

“If you ask me,” Santiago said, “I think something will happen.”

In fact, Santiago actually thought he was traded when he arrived into the clubhouse Wednesday morning for their game against the Angels. His bags were packed, and players came by to shake his hands.

It turned out to be only an April Fools’ joke--for now.

The Braves have had strong interest in Santiago for the past year, and Schuerholz and Manager Bobby Cox long have admired his ability. They also have shown little concern for acquiring a potential free agent, attempting last month to obtain outfielder Barry Bonds of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Would Santiago sign a long-term deal with the Braves before testing the free-agent market?

“I think there’s a value we’d put on Benny in the open market,” agent Scott Boras said, “and if they were to match that offer, we’d be willing to sign.

“I don’t think there’s any question, though, that the Padres will trade him as long as they get some sort of reasonable compensation.”

If the Padres indeed are able to pull off the trade, the acquisition of Mercker would satisfy the Padres’ desire to find another reliever. They are concerned about their bullpen, knowing that they might have to open the season without Larry Andersen, who has an inflamed right shoulder. Andersen’s absence would leave them without an experienced setup man in the bullpen for stopper Randy Myers.

Andersen gently played catch Wednesday morning for the first time since getting a cortisone shot six days ago, and is expected to throw again today. Yet, he still was experiencing mild discomfort, and the Padres confirmed that it’s unlikely he’ll be ready by opening day.

“There’s still some pain there,” said Mike Roarke, Padre pitching coach. “We won’t know for sure until he lets it all out, but I don’t think it’ll be a long, or permanent thing.”

Said Andersen: “I felt fine today, it’s just disappointing that it’s taken so long.”

The Padres also have been involved in negotiations with several clubs in an attempt to trade outfielder Thomas Howard. McIlvaine confirmed Howard’s name has been mentioned in talks, but did not know whether a trade would be consummated by opening day.

The Padres, apparently, have had little interest in their attempts to trade backup catcher Tom Lampkin, who has lost his job to Dann Bilardello. It’s likely that the Padres will try to clear him through waivers, then send him to triple-A Las Vegas.

Even if no trade is made by opening day, McIlvaine said, he is ebullient with the way the team shaped up this spring, breaking camp Wednesday after their 3-1 defeat to the Angels. He believes the recent acquisition of third baseman Gary Sheffield not only makes their lineup complete, but perhaps the finest infield in the National League.

“Over the winter, people thought were 13th in a 12-team league,” McIlvaine said. “You’d have thought we had the worst infield in the world. Well, I dare say our infield is as good as anybody’s.

“You take a good, hard look at this team, and we’re very close to having a chance to win it.”

McIlvaine said that perhaps most pleasing was the emergence of the three non-roster pitchers he picked up during the winter--Dave Eiland, Mark Knudson and Mike York. Eiland is expected to be the Padres’ fifth starter, and Knudson and York will be available if needed.

Perhaps the biggest surprises of camp were left-handed reliever Pat Clements, left fielder Jerald Clark and starter Craig Lefferts. Clements (1-1, 0.90 ERA) will make the team as a non-roster pitcher; Clark (.304, four homers and 10 RBIs) ran away from Howard in the competition for left field; and Lefferts (3-0, 3.64 ERA) surprised his own teammates by making the rotation.

“We’re not perfect,” McIlvaine said, “but this team could surprise a lot of people.”