Personnel Losses Worry the Padres : Baseball: They watched as the rest of the NL West improved during the winter meetings.

Padres officials packed their bags and headed to the airport today, having accomplished the improbable at baseball’s winter meetings.

They find themselves in worse shape today than when they departed San Diego a week ago, simply because their counterparts in the National League West are not cooperating.

Even though the Padres believe they will benefit from their acquisition of left fielder Phil Plantier from the Boston Red Sox for reliever Jose Melendez, they’re worried that their remaining weaknesses will be exposed in the National League West.

“We’ve still got some big holes,” said Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn. “And if you’ve got holes in our division, you’ve got big problems.

“It’s going to be hard to convince people that we can win.”

As Padre first baseman Fred McGriff put it ever so bluntly: “You always want to think you have a chance, but I’m not sure you can say that now.”

The Padres did little to ease their comfort Thursday by reaching an oral agreement with the San Francisco Giants that will send utility infielder Paul Faries to the Giants for left-handed reliever Jim Pena.

Pena will join Rich Rodriguez as the only lefties in the Padre bullpen. Pena, 28, split his time with the Giants and triple-A Phoenix last season. He was 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA in 25 appearances for the Giants and 7-3 with a 4.15 ERA in 33 appearances with Phoenix.

“We’ve been scouring the rosters of teams looking for a left-hander, so we’ll see what happens,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “Faries might not have made our team anyway, and the Giants needed a utility infielder.”

The Padres’ biggest adversary in their quest for distinction is themselves. They have no money to spend with the big boys, and unfortunately for the Padres, the NL West teams emptied their pockets in the free-agent market.

* If the Atlanta Braves didn’t create enough havoc the past two seasons, they also picked up Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux. Who’s going to score against that vaunted rotation?

* The Cincinnati Reds bolstered their outfield in the off-season with the acquisition of Kevin Mitchell and Roberto Kelly, and added John Smiley to their pitching staff. Once again, they might have the most complete lineup in the league.

* The San Francisco Giants picked up outfielder Barry Bonds, the greatest player in the game. Look for Will Clark’s numbers to dramatically soar with that kind of protection.

* The Houston Astros, buoyed by their new ownership, overhauled their starting rotation by grabbing free agents Doug Drabek and Greg Swindell. No team in the league may be more improved.

* The Dodgers, who already acquired second baseman Jody Reed, strengthened their bullpen by signing reliever Todd Worrell. It’s difficult to believe they can repeat last year’s nightmare.

And then there are the Padres and expansion Colorado Rockies.

“When you see what all the other teams did in our division, and what we did, it’s pretty tough,” McGriff said, “Let’s face it, I don’t see anyone picking us higher than sixth, do you?

“The last couple of years, it was a thing where you feel you have at least a chance to win.

“I’m not sure how many people think that way now. You look around, and just about everyone spent money but us.”

There were $235.5 million spent in the free-agent frenzy during the winter meetings, ranging from Barry Bonds’ $43 million contract to Tom Bolton’s $400,000.

Oh, and the Padres, you ask?

They spent a whopping total of $70,000 in the Rule 5 and minor-league drafts.

The only numbers the Padres were adding up were the contracts leaving their payroll. Bullpen stopper Randy Myers signed for $11 million with the Chicago Cubs. Starter Jim Deshaies signed for $1 million with the Minnesota Twins. All-Star catcher Benito Santiago is close to signing for $3 million with the Florida Marlins, with the Yankees still lurking as a possibility if they unload Matt Nokes. And reliever Larry Andersen already has been bought out of his contract.

The Padres not only couldn’t afford to sign any of their own free agents, but they couldn’t even offer arbitration to Myers or Santiago for fear that they’d accept.

“That’s what we have to compete against,” McIlvaine said. “Hopefully, people will understand the reality that we’re going to put an economic-minded team on the field to be competitive.

“It’s frustrating, but just because you spend money doesn’t guarantee you’ll win the pennant. There’s some unsigned free agent sitting out there that’s going to make a major difference for a ballclub, and we want to find that guy.”

If there is a free agent the Padres can afford, it won’t be for much more than the minimum $109,000. The Padres still are under a directive to slice $5 million from their payroll and will continue their attempts to unload starter Bruce Hurst ($2.75 million) and reliever Mike Maddux (projected $1 million).

The Padres will wait until spring training before dealing Hurst, hoping to show teams he’s healthy since undergoing off-season rotator-cuff surgery. In Maddux’s case, they want to trade him before the Dec. 20 deadline when contracts must be tendered. They might send him to Atlanta where he’ll be joining his brother.

“I’d feel a lot more comfortable about our chances if we had Brucie on the roster,” Gwynn said, “but we’re not that bad. We’ve got some sock in our lineup. We may not be in great shape this year, but who knows what will happen the year after that.”

The Padres’ greatest strength will be their offense, owning one of the most feared lineups at the top of the order. Gwynn, who has been working out daily with his personal trainer and is fully recovered from arthroscopic knee surgery, is being considered to bat leadoff. He would be followed by Darrin Jackson, Gary Sheffield, McGriff and Plantier.

“I’m still not sure where we’ll bat Tony in the lineup,” Padre Manager Jim Riggleman said, “but it’s either going to be first or second. Wherever it is, he’ll be the best in the league.”

Said McGriff: “The guy who could really help make it work is Plantier. Potentially, he should really help out. If he plays like he’s capable, people are going to say, ‘How did Boston ever let that guy go?’ ”

The trouble the Padres might find, however, is trying to shut down the opposition. The only reliever in their entire bullpen who has pitched an entire season without going to the minors is Rich Rodriguez.

Want frightening?

The six relievers in the Padre bullpen--Rodriguez, Jeremy Hernandez, Tim Scott, Jim Pena, Gene Harris and Kerry Taylor--have combined for six career saves.

If the Padres are able to trade Hurst, their starting rotation could be nearly as inexperienced. Andy Benes, who has been in the big leagues for only three years, would be the veteran starter in a rotation that includes Greg Harris, Frank Seminara, Wally Whitehurst and Doug Brocail.

“It’s certainly a concern,” McIlvaine said, “but we still have four months before opening day. Remember, people were wondering a year ago at this time what we’d do about a third baseman, and I think we came up with a pretty darn good one (Sheffield).

“We’ll be all right. I really believe that.”