PADRE NOTEBOOK : Andersen Heads for Disabled List; Hernandez Stays : Baseball: Padres put finishing touches on roster before Monday’s opener in Cincinnati.

The procession to the bullpen began at 11:26 a.m. Saturday. The sun was bright and Larry Andersen’s future uncertain.

Andersen, Padres Manager Greg Riddoch, General Manager Joe McIlvaine and pitching coach Mike Roarke arrived at the bullpen to make one of the last decisions of the spring. Andersen threw, and 15 minutes later, the answer came as expected.

Andersen, who has been bothered by inflammation in the right shoulder, will begin the season on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 28. He will be eligible to return next Sunday, against the Dodgers.

The Padres on Saturday also returned first baseman Phil Stephenson to triple-A Las Vegas and purchased the contracts of pitchers Pat Clements and Dave Eiland and outfielder Kevin Ward from Las Vegas, the final touches to a 25-man roster that they will take to Cincinnati to open the season Monday.

As for Andersen, it was more a move of caution than anything else. He said he went about 90% and was pain-free.

“I threw some sliders and it felt good,” Andersen said. “Everybody involved said they felt it would probably be better for me to get back up on the mound a couple of times.

“Even if I was active, they probably wouldn’t want to use me in Cincinnati. With the (cold) weather, and I haven’t pitched to a hitter since March 22nd. . . .”

Andersen figures he will return Sunday, but it is another chapter of frustration in his Padre career. Although he had a career-high 13 saves last summer, he was placed on the disabled list twice because of a herniated disk in his neck.

Riddoch said that the Padres will keep 11 pitchers, so if Andersen does come off of the disabled list Sunday, another pitcher probably will be dispatched to Las Vegas.

Stephenson, 31, was in camp this spring as a non-roster player and batted over .300. But he appeared in only 11 games for San Diego last season, missing most of the summer because of avascular necrosis in his right knee.

He also played in seven games for Las Vegas and 12 for double-A Wichita last summer.

“Part of it is that he missed (nearly) the entire season last year, and (outfielder) Oscar (Azocar) played all of last season,” Riddoch said. “They both had good springs.”

Said Stephenson: “I played well enough, I showed them I’m capable. There’s not much more I can do. I don’t make the decisions. I’ll come down (to Las Vegas) and play well and come back. If not with this club, then there are 25 others.”

One of the happiest Padres Saturday afternoon was right-hander Jeremy Hernandez, who will take Andersen’s place on the Padres’ opening day roster. Hernandez, 25, made his first appearance in the major leagues last September when the Padres called him up on Sept. 1.

He worked 14 1/3 innings in San Diego, allowing no earned runs and eight hits.

“I didn’t know what to expect this year,” said Hernandez, who is 6 feet 6. “With the acquisition of (Randy) Myers and other new pitchers, there was a lot of doubt. The first couple of weeks, I struggled and thought I had eliminated myself.

“But they showed me how Andy Benes was throwing, standing tall and using his height as an advantage.”

Tony Gwynn, who missed three games against the Angels last week with a jammed left thumb, said his hand is 100% and he is ready for opening day.

“I’m ready to go; I’m feeling great,” Gwynn said. “I hit every day even though I didn’t play. My biggest concern is just being out there. You can do all you want in batting practice. I had great rounds of batting practice.”

In his return to the lineup Friday, Gwynn went one for five.

“I was out in front a little bit, but that happens,” Gwynn said.

Saturday, he went one for three.

Gwynn said he is particularly excited about opening day this season because it is in Cincinnati.

“There’s a lot of tradition opening up in Cincinnati,” Gwynn said. “A little bit because their game is usually the first one of the year. That’s not the case this year (Detroit opens an hour earlier), but. . . .

“We’ve opened up just about everywhere else since I’ve been here, except Cincinnati and Atlanta.

“I’m just glad the season is here.”

Benito Santiago played in Las Vegas in 1986, and then again he came back in 1990 for six games on an injury rehabilitation assignment. And despite the trade rumors and his uncertain future, he was enjoying himself in Vegas again this weekend.

“I always liked it here,” Santiago said. “It’s Vegas, man. I had a lot of fun when I played here in 1986.”

The Padres dropped their final exhibition game to Seattle, 10-9, in another wild one.

Third baseman Gary Sheffield committed three errors and starting pitcher Craig Lefferts was lifted after 3 2/3 innings having allowed four runs (two earned) and seven hits. Mike Maddux surrendered four hits and two runs--both earned--in only one inning. The Padres led, 9-8, in the eighth but Hernandez allowed a bases-empty homer to Bret Boone and then, in the ninth, Hernandez allowed a game-losing, RBI single to outfielder Patrick Lennon.

Shortstop Tony Fernandez was lifted after his second at bat when he was jammed with a pitch and bruised his hand--the same one he had surgery on last winter. Fernandez said he expects to be ready Monday. If he isn’t, Craig Shipley would start in his place.

Padre Notes

The Padres will work out at 1:30 p.m. today in Riverfront Stadium. . . . Pitching matchups for the opening series in Cincinnati: The Padres’ Bruce Hurst vs. Jose Rijo Monday; Greg Harris vs. Tom Browning Tuesday and Andy Benes vs. Tim Belcher Wednesday. . . . Reggie Sanders has won the starting center field job in Cincinnati, so Dave Martinez and Billy Hatcher will platoon in left. What does this mean? Bip Roberts will start the season at second base, where he was so unhappy here last year. . . . With the Padre rotation set, so, too, is Las Vegas’: Mike York, Mark Knudson, Adam Peterson, Frank Seminara and Doug Brocail.