Padres Deal for Plantier : Trade: They send Melendez to the Boston Red Sox for the former Poway High standout.

While other baseball teams try to solve their woes via free agency, the Padres went the old-fashioned way Wednesday, acquiring left fielder Phil Plantier from the Boston Red Sox in a swap for reliever Jose Melendez.

“This is the trade we wanted to make all along,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “We think Plantier is really going to help us.

“We’ve got a young player with the potential to be a home-run hitter. I don’t think he’ll ever be stellar defensively, but I think he’ll be fine.

“I know this, the outfield we have now is significantly better than last year.”

The trade allows Plantier, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound left-handed hitter, to return home.Plantier, 23, was raised in San Diego and graduated in 1987 from Poway High. He even bought a new home in Rancho Bernardo several weeks ago.

“You can’t imagine how this makes me feel,” Plantier said. “I almost feel like a thief. I couldn’t ask for anything better than this.

“I played with Wade Boggs with the Red Sox, and now I get to play with another batting champion (Tony Gwynn).

“I don’t know what to say, but I’ve got a lot of people to thank.”

Plantier was touted in the Red Sox organization as a premier power-hitter until this season, because he hit at least 25 homers in his three previous minor-league seasons. However, he underwent major elbow surgery after the 1991 season and never seemed to recover. He hit only .246 last season with seven homers and 30 RBIs and was demoted to triple-A Pawtucket for a month during the season.

The Red Sox suddenly began to question whether Plantier, 23, would live up to his billing. And he became expendable Wednesday when they they signed free-agent outfielder Andre Dawson to a two-year, $9.3 million contract.

“(Red Sox Manager) Butch Hobson never cared for him at all,” said one club official. “That’s the reason he’s gone. It was just a personality conflict.”

Said McIlvaine: “Those kinds of things happen. If you recall, we got a guy in spring training that had problems with the manager in Milwaukee.”

His name is Gary Sheffield.

Padre Manager Jim Riggleman said Plantier will bat fifth in the lineup against right-handed pitchers--behind left-handed hitter Fred McGriff. He probably will bat sixth against lefties. It also moves outfielder Darrell Sherman out of the starting lineup, either to the bench or triple-A Las Vegas.

Plantier also fits into the Padres’ salary structure. He earned barely more than the minimum $109,000 last season, and is two years away from arbitration.

“He fits our team, and definitely fits our need,” McIlvaine said.

The Padres, who would like to cut their payroll another $5 million, still hope to trade starter Bruce Hurst in spring training.

The Red Sox lost interest in Hurst two days ago, as previously reported, and informed the Padres on Wednesday that Hurst no longer is on their agenda.

“Hurst was not involved at all (in the Plantier trade talks),” McIlvaine said. “They’re not backing off Hurst because of his health, but because they want to go a different direction.”

The Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals remain interested in Hurst, sources said, but those teams are expected to wait to see how Hurst rebounds from rotator-cuff surgery.

The Padres’ trade with the Red Sox concludes several days of intense negotiations. The Red Sox had been attempting to acquire center fielders Darrin Jackson or Darrell Sherman, but McIlvaine steadfastly refused.

Instead, the Padres only had to part with a middle reliever, although Melendez was highly sought. In fact, 10 clubs made trade proposals to the Padres in an effort to acquire Melendez.

Melendez was 6-7 with a 2.92 ERA last season, but he was 6-4 record with a 1.81 ERA in relief.

“He gives us tremendous flexibility,” Red Sox General Manager Lou Gorman said. “We’ll probably keep him in the bullpen.”

Although the Padres might have strengthened their offense with the acquisition of Plantier, they again watched helplessly as they lost another free agent. Reliever Randy Myers signed a three-year, $11-million contract with the Chicago Cubs.

In addition, Padre catcher Benito Santiago is expected to sign a contract with the Florida Marlins within a week. Santiago has been offered a one-year contract for about $3 million and incentives. The Montreal Expos, the only other team bidding for Santiago, dropped out of the running after learning of the Marlins’ offer.

“We want to go to a team whose general manager supports Benito,” said Scott Boras, Santiago’s agent. “We didn’t have that in San Diego.”

Myers, acquired in a trade for Bip Roberts a year ago, had a career-high 38 saves last season. But his salary would not fit in the Padres’ shrinking payroll.

“I deeply regret not being able to keep Randy Myers,” McIlvaine said. “I think we’ll miss him significantly next year.

“It’s like we’re riding a storm.

“We’re a little siege right now.”

Myers spurned the Red Sox for the Cubs. The Red Sox also offered him a three-year deal in excess of $10 million, but Myers wished to remain in the National League.

“I think he’s going to be great for us,” said Hugh Alexander, the Cubs’ top scout. “He takes the damn ball every day. He pitches the best when he pitches every day or two. It’s not going to be a situation like San Diego where they were hot and cold with him.”

In fact, Myers’ relationship with the Padres last season deteriorated at Wrigley Field. Myers blew a save June 2 when he gave up a two-run homer to Dawson, prompting then-Manager Greg Riddoch to yank him out of the stopper’s role.

Myers had only one save situation the next five weeks, prompting him to wear a T-shirt that read: “On Vacation.” When he returned to the stopper’s role, he recorded 16 consecutive saves and 25 of his final 29.

“He did everything we asked,” McIlvaine said. “There certainly wasn’t a better left-handed reliever in the game last year.”

The Padre clubhouse certainly will not be the same. Gone are the hand grenades, survival knives, stun guns, Army helmets, and fatigues.

“The first thing I’ve got to do is check out the city codes,” Myers said, laughing. “I feel pretty good about it. It’s going to be a great situation.

“The only difference now is that I’m going to have to schedule my workouts at night instead of the morning.”

The Padres had trade talks with 11 other teams during the day, with several inquiring about relievers Mike Maddux and Rich Rodriguez. The Padres are eager to trade Maddux because they don’t plan to tender him a contract by the Dec. 20 deadline. They plan on retaining Rodriguez, because he is the only left-hander on the staff.