Padres Trade Salazar, Wynne for Schiraldi, Jackson : But Their Run in NL West Slowed by Loss to Expos

SAN DIEGO —  Suddenly finding themselves in the middle of a pennant race, the Padres agreed Wednesday to make a five-player trade with the Chicago Cubs to help bolster their pitching staff.

The Padres will acquire pitcher Calvin Schiraldi, reserve outfielder Darrin Jackson and a player to be named from the Cubs’ 40-man roster in exchange for reserve outfielder Marvell Wynne and utility infielder Luis Salazar.

The Padres have talked with the Cubs off and on most of this season, primarily in attempts to obtain shortstop Shawon Dunston. But with Schiraldi becoming available, and the Padres in desperate need of pitching help, they decided Wednesday morning that they could not afford to pass up the opportunity.

The Padres also brought up infielder Joey Cora of their triple-A Las Vegas team Wednesday morning, out-righting pitcher Don Schulze off the roster for the minimum requirement of 10 days (he can pitch for them again Sept. 9). Making the moves before midnight tonight means the new players will be included on the playoff roster that must be submitted to the league Friday.

“Our thinking definitely has changed the past week,” said Tony Siegle, the Padre general manager. “Before, it was a thing where maybe we could make a trade to help a contender. But now, we are a contender.

“It became a case of, ‘Can you afford to give certain players up and still remain in contention?’ We weren’t going to make a deal just to help for 1990, that’s for sure. We wanted help now. (And) we didn’t want one of these Fred Lynn-type pickups that would just help this last month.”

Even though the Padres’ six-game winning streak ended Wednesday with a 5-1 defeat to Montreal in front of 16,557 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, they’ve cut their deficit to front-running San Francisco from 10 to seven games in the past week. It’s just the fourth time in the club’s 20-year history that the Padres have been within seven games on the last day of August.

“This is the way I thought we could play all season,” Padre Manager Jack McKeon said. “We still have a big uphill battle ahead of us, but this will help. We really needed another quality pitcher, and now we’ve got one.”

The Padres, who lost starter Eric Show for the remainder of the season in July because of surgery for a bulging disc in his back, have struggled to replace him. They believe that Greg Harris--who allowed five hits and one run in seven innings Tuesday in their 2-1 victory over the Expos--can adequately fill the role, but with Harris moving into the rotation, a hole was created in the bullpen.

This is where Schiraldi, a 27-year-old right-hander, is expected to go. Schiraldi, who has pitched strictly is relief this season after being a starter in 27 of 29 games in 1988, is 3-6 with a 3.78 ERA and four saves. Although he has yielded a meager .209 batting average to opposing batters--allowing 60 hits in 78 2/3 innings--he’s given up a whopping 50 walks.

“We needed the pitching more than anything,” McKeon said. “If we had Show, it’s a different story.”

Still, Schiraldi was a player the Padres had coveted since spring training. They tried to acquire him then but were flatly refused.

“He just wasn’t available then,” McKeon said. “We need pitching, and you’re not going to find a guy like Schiraldi next spring, either. We discussed it for a day or two, and everybody said that was the way to go. Hopefully, he’ll be another Raz.”

Dennis Rasmussen went 14-4 with a 2.55 ERA after being acquired from Cincinnati last season.

Jackson, a Los Angeles native who was an All-CIF player in 1981 for Culver City High School, has been used primarily as the backup center fielder for rookie Jerome Walton. He’s played in 40 games, batting .229 with one homer and eight RBIs.

He once was considered a power-hitter, batting .274 with 23 homers and 81 RBIs in 1987 for triple-A Iowa. But after he was called up to the Cubs, a malignant tumor was discovered in his groin area. He had lymph nodes removed on Sept. 21, 1987, and missed the last few weeks of the season.

Jackson, 26, is expected to vie for the starting center-field job next season. For the time being, he’s expected to fill the void left by Wynne and is expected to start against left-handers.

Although McKeon and Siegle appeared quite content with their latest maneuver, the trade left the Padre clubhouse in a state of shock. Wynne and Salazar are two of the Padres’ most popular players, and although everyone knew the trading deadline was tonight, no one expected them to depart.

“We hated to let them go to,” McKeon said, “but both are free agents, and we just weren’t going to get Schiraldi without giving them up.”

Said Salazar: “I’ve gotten traded so many times (three), but this still surprised me. I never thought they would have a chance to trade me. This team needed a starting pitcher if they were going to stay in the race, and the only way they were going to get it is to give up a couple players.”

Carmelo Martinez, who has complained about lack of playing time and also is eligible to be a free agent at the end of the season, shook hands with Salazar and said, “I’m jealous, man.”

Wynne, born and raised in Chicago, seemed a little more enthusiastic about the trade than Salazar. He has dreamed one day of playing for the Cubs.

“I feel good about it,” Wynne said. “I’m going back home. I’ll miss this place, but I’m not depressed about it”

Said McKeon, noting that the Cubs are in first place in the NL East: “At least they (the traded players) gained two places in the standings.”

Wynne, the Padres’ fourth outfielder, had started just six times since Aug. 1. He was hitting .252 with six homers and 35 RBIs.

Cora, who hit .311 with 37 RBIs and 40 stolen bases at triple-A Las Vegas, will take over for Salazar, who hit .268 with eight homers and 22 RBIs.

The Cubs felt the urge to make the trade because of poor play at third base with Vance Law and Domingo Ramos. Salazar is expected to be at least a part-time starter, if not full-time.

“We had to give up a lot,” said pitcher Bruce Hurst, a former teammate of Schiraldi’s at Boston. “It’s not my position to say, but I know we gave up a lot, two good guys.

“Cal’s got a terrific arm. He’s a great guy. So I’m glad to have him over here.”

Schiraldi, who was 2-0 against the Padres with a 2.01 ERA, had his best stretch from July 18-Aug. 25 last season. He went 4-0 in six starts with a 2.00 ERA, allowing 34 hits in 45 innings.

Padre Notes

Mandi Rutherford, the six-year-old Easter Seal poster child who was promised a home run by first baseman Jack Clark on Monday, returned Wednesday to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. “Can you believe it?” said Clark, who welcomed her with a hug and kiss. “She actually thanked me for hitting the (two) homers. What a sweetheart.” On this day, she asked Tim Flannery if he could hit a homer. Flannery, used as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning, drew a walk, loading the bases. . . . Flannery, who originally announced his retirement for Sept. 29, the date of his 32nd birthday, now says he’ll likely retire at the conclusion of the season. “And I hope it’s Oct. 25, or whenever the end of the season is,” he said. “What a fairy-tale finish that would be.”

WHAT THE PADRES RECEIVED CALVIN SCHIRALDI IN THE MAJORS

Team, Year IP ER HITS BB SO SV W-L ERA New York (NL), 1984 17 1/3 11 20 10 16 0 0-2 5.71 New York (NL), 1985 26 1/3 26 43 56 76 0 2-1 8.89 Boston, 1986 51 8 36 15 55 9 4-2 1.41 Boston, 1987 83 2/3 41 75 40 93 6 8-5 4.41 Chicago (NL), 1988 166 1/3 81 166 63 140 1 9-13 4.38 Chicago (NL), 1989 78 2/3 33 60 50 54 4 3-6 3.81 Totals 423 200 400 234 434 20 26-29 4.26

DARRIN JACKSON IN THE MAJORS

Team, Year AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG. Chicago (NL), 1985 11 0 1 0 0 0 0 .091 Chicago (NL), 1987 5 2 4 1 0 0 0 .800 Chicago (NL), 1988 188 29 50 11 3 6 20 .266 Chicago (NL), 1989 82 7 19 4 0 1 8 .232 Totals 286 38 74 16 3 7 28 .259