PADRES UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / BOB NIGHTENGALE : McIlvaine Intensifies Effort to Trade for a No. 5 Hitter

Although saying it’s too early to panic, Padre General Manager Joe McIlvaine nevertheless has intensified his efforts in the trade market.

McIlvaine has had talked with several clubs this past week in an attempt to find a No. 5 hitter, according to sources. It’s no secret the Padres are dissatisfied with the offensive performances of catcher Benito Santiago, left fielder Jerald Clark and center fielder Darrin Jackson, and McIlvaine would like nothing better than to bolster the bottom of the lineup.

“I’ve been burning the phone lines,” McIlvaine said. “Right now, we have to get better pitching and more production from the bottom of the order.”

The Padres, according to sources, have informed teams that the only players not available are right fielder Tony Gwynn, first baseman Fred McGriff, third baseman Gary Sheffield, shortstop Tony Fernandez and starting pitchers Andy Benes and Greg Harris.

The Padres have become particularly concerned with Clark, who entered Tuesday’s game with a .174 batting average. In a two-for-22 slump (.091), he has not been above .200 since April 17.

“He’s not the first hitter in baseball to have a bad first month,” McIlvaine said. “We still have confidence that he’ll turn it around.

“When you look at it, the first four hitters have been dynamite. But we need production from our 5-6-7 hitters. We’re probably fortunate to be where we are considering everything.

“Our best baseball should still be ahead of us.”

Reliever Larry Andersen probably will remain on the disabled list at least the remainder of May, a hand specialist informed him Tuesday, but the examination revealed there was no nerve or tendon damage in his bruised right forearm.

“It’s good that there’s nothing wrong in there,” Andersen said, “but I’m awfully disappointed it’s going to take that long to recover. It could be another two or three weeks.”

Andersen, who sustained the injury April 27 when Philadelphia Phillies infielder Mariano Duncan hit a pitch off his forearm, will pitch every day on the side to relieve the pain.

“He (Dr. Richard Eaton) said to go ahead and keep pitching until the pain is intolerable,” Andersen said. “I’m supposed to just take it nice and easy. I thought rest would be the best for me, but it turns out it was the worst. I need to get the fluid out of there.

“The frustrating thing is I want to pitch now, not in two or three weeks.”

Starter Craig Lefferts, who will take at least one more turn in the rotation Friday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, left the team Tuesday morning to attend the funeral of his 93-year-old father. He’ll join the team Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

The Padres, as anticipated, will move Greg Harris back a day in the rotation to work on his mechanics.

“My mechanics have been all messed up,” Harris said. “I’ve been totally out of sync. My delivery was aimed somewhere in between home and first base instead of over the plate. I couldn’t get any control that way. (Pitching coach) Mike Roarke said he noticed I was doing that about four starts ago, but didn’t say anything because I was still getting people out.

“It wasn’t until the last two starts that I really struggled, and needed help. I’m hoping this will be the difference.”

The Padres, deciding that No. 1 draft pick Joey Hamilton had overmatched the South Atlantic League in his seven starts for Charleston, promoted him Tuesday to Class A High Desert.

Hamilton was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA, yielding 37 hits in 43 2/3 innings. He has struck out 35 batters and walked only four.

Gwynn already has three errors this season, matching his total of all of last season.

“I know all of the errors have been on aggressive mistakes,” Gwynn said, “but that doesn’t make me feel any better. I’ve got to be more careful.”