Red Sox Close to Getting Myers Without the Benefit of a Trade : Baseball: Padres still working on a deal to land outfielder Phil Plantier.

While the Padres and Boston Red Sox exchanged trade proposals Monday involving as many as four pitchers, there is only one who appears to be leaving on his own for New England.

Randy Myers, who posted one of the finest seasons of any reliever in Padre history, is on the verge of signing a free-agent contract with the Boston Red Sox. Sources familiar with the negotiations said the deal could be consummated as early as today.

The Padres spoke with David Fishoff, Myers’ agent, but did not offer arbitration by the midnight deadline. The Red Sox will not be required to provide a first-round draft pick as compensation.

“We would have loved to keep Randy,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager, “but we just couldn’t afford him. We couldn’t even take the risk of offering arbitration.”

The Red Sox have been in the market for a closer since Jeff Reardon departed. They believe Myers will solidify their team. Myers saved a career-high 38 games, the second-most in franchise history behind Mark Davis’ 44 saves in 1989.

The Padres also lost free agent catcher Benito Santiago and free agent pitcher Larry Andersen.

It appears Santiago is on the verge of signing a free-agent contract. He was offered a one-year deal for $2.6 million plus incentives by the Montreal Expos, according to a club official.

In a surprising move, the Padres offered salary arbitration to Jim Deshaies.

“Of the four,” McIlvaine said, “he was the least risk. He did a good job for us. We need some lefties, so we were willing to take a chance.”

Deshaies, 4-7, 3.28, rejected the Padres’ last offer for about $350,000 when the Padres decided to offer arbitration. Deshaies is projected to be the Padres’ fourth starter in the rotation.

Meanwhile, the Padres still are struggling to consummate a trade for Red Sox left fielder Phil Plantier.

They discussed three different trade proposals with the Red Sox, and reliever Jose Melendez continued to be the focus of the talks. The Red Sox are discussing one trade possibility that would send Plantier and starter John Dopson for Melendez and starter Bruce Hurst. The Red Sox also have expressed interest in outfielder Darrel Sherman.

The Red Sox’s interest in Hurst has become muddled while the team awaits a final medical report. Hurst underwent surgery to repair two small tears in his left shoulder, and the Red Sox are not satisfied with the two previous reports they’ve received.

“They’re still debating,” McIlvaine said. “The ball’s in their court. The Red Sox have got to be thinking that if you put him with (Frank) Viola and (Roger) Clemens, they’d be pretty impressive in a three-game series.”

Perhaps most encouraging to the Padres is that two other teams have entered into the bidding for Hurst. The Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics each have made proposals, although one source said they are not as attractive as Boston’s offer.

“There’s no gun to our head,” McIlvaine said. “It’s not like the (Tony) Fernandez situation where we had to do something under the gun. This time, we’re here to deal quality for quality.

“Do I think we’ll get something done while we’re here?

“Yes.”

The Padres, who could trade Hurst and Melendez to the Red Sox, found at least their 11th man on the pitching staff by selecting right-handed pitcher Kerry Taylor, 21, in the Rule 5 draft.

Even though Taylor has not pitched above Class A in the Minnesota Twins’ organization, the Padres have to retain him on their big league team the entire season. If the Padres suddenly decide they can’t keep Taylor in the big leagues, they’d have to return him to the Twins, losing $25,000 on the transaction.

“It’s the best bargain in baseball,” McIlvaine said, “and I think he’s got a chance to be pretty good.”

Said John Barr, assistant general manager: “Let’s put it this way, he automatically becomes one of our top 10 prospects.”

Taylor, 6 feet 2, 205 pounds, was 10-9 with a 2.75 ERA in 27 starts this past season with Kenosha of the Class A Midwest League. He yielded 150 hits and struck out 158 in 170 1/3 innings.

The Padres, attempting to replenish their minor-league system, selected five players in the minor-league draft, the most of any big league team. They acquired outfielder Ira Smith from the Dodger organization; left-handed pitcher Andy Rush from Boston; left-handed pitcher Jason Kerr from the Dodgers; catcher Matt Kluge from Seattle; and third baseman Ignacio Duran from St. Louis. They lost left-handed pitcher Brian Thibault from double-A Wichita and right-handed pitcher Russell Silcox.

Duran perhaps was the most interesting selection. Although he has been a third baseman all of his career, the Padres plan to convert him into a pitcher or catcher because of his strong arm.

“He’s just got a great, great arm,” said Reggie Waller, Padre scouting director. “It’s just that his bat will never sustain at third base.”

The Padres also had trade discussions with the Texas Rangers, who are interested in middle reliever Mike Maddux. The Padres are eager to trade Maddux because he could earn about $1 million in arbitration. They are not expected to even offer a contract by the Dec. 20 deadline.

The Padres also had informal trade talks with the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and New York Mets.

Considering that all of the Padre moves appear to be little more than a fire sale, can they realistically expect to compete with the big boys of the National League West?

“We’re not throwing in the towel,” Padre Manager Jim Riggleman said. “We’re just in a situation where a lot of things would have to go right for us to win it.

“Really, there’s no reason we can’t win. It’s a cop-out to think otherwise.”