It Appears Padres Get the Rights to Carter : Baseball: Deal for Cleveland center fielder reportedly includes San Diego’s Sandy Alomar and Chris James.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. —  The Padres acquired the rights to center fielder Joe Carter from the Cleveland Indians, sources at the baseball winter meetings said Monday night.

In exchange, the Indians will get catcher Sandy Alomar, left fielder Chris James and minor-league third baseman Carlos Baerga.

The deal was consummated at about 11:30 p.m., CST, Monday, according to sources close to the negotiations, but will not be made final or announced until the Padres sign Carter to a contract extension.

When contacted, Jack McKeon, vice president/baseball operations, would neither confirm or deny that the trade already has been made.

“We haven’t finalized anything yet,” McKeon said. “It depends on whether we can sign him. There’s different packages if we sign him and don’t sign him.”

Jim Turner, Carter’s agent, said: “I think it (a trade involving Carter) is coming down shortly, but no one has said anything to me, and you’d think I’d be one of the first to know.”

The commissioner’s office is expected to provide the Padres 72 hours to negotiate with Carter and sign him to an extension. Carter earned $1.63 million in 1989, and is eligible for arbitration in 1990, his last season before being eligible for free agency.

Although Carter said that his first choice is to play with the Kansas City Royals, Turner said of the Padres: “I know he would like to talk to them. There’s a guy named Gwynn who excites him.”

Carter telephoned Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn last week and asked him about playing in San Diego, and from their conversation, Carter indicated that he would rather wait to sign a contract extension. He also expressed the same sentiments to second baseman Frank White of the Kansas City Royals.

“He told me that he didn’t want to sign an extension with anybody right now,” White said. “The marketplace is changing so much, he didn’t want to do anything prematurely. He sounded enthused about playing for the Angels or Padres, especially the Angels, but he still didn’t want to do anything yet.”

Gwynn said: “I was telling Joe all about San Diego, really selling him on the place. I told him everything is perfect down here, it’s a great place to play in a great city.

“Then he asked me about the cost of housing.

“I said, ‘Well, OK, maybe not everything’s perfect.’

“But I told him I’m sure they’re going to him the red carpet treatment. I know Joe, and his family priority is very important to him, He’s got to be convinced his family is in good shape.”

Certainly, it appears, the Padres will be faring quite nicely with Carter in the outfield.

Carter, 29, has averaged 30 home runs and 108 RBIs the past four seasons. He has played center field, left field and first base, and probably will play center field for the Padres.

The Padres’ acquisition comes at the expense of the Angels, who had offered outfielder Devon White and second baseman Johnny Ray for Carter, but were forced to withdraw when the negotiations for free-agent center fielder Robin Yount stalled.

The Indians were swamped with plenty of other offers for Carter, but all were rejected when the Padres included James in the trade. Besides the Angels’ offer, the others considered by the Indians were:

Kansas City Royals: Tartabull and reliever Jose DeJesus.

St. Louis Cardinals: Center fielder Willie McGee and left fielder Vince Coleman.

Toronto Blue Jays: Second baseman Manny Lee, outfielder Junior Felix and reliever Duane Ward.

The Padres and Indians began negotiations in earnest a week ago, but could not come to an agreement on the players that would be included with Alomar until Monday.

The Indians, according to sources close to the negotiations, originally demanded that right-handed pitcher Greg Harris be included in the trade. But when McKeon refused, the Indians asked for James and a prospect.

McKeon is expected to make a bid to complete his dream outfield by acquiring right fielder Tartabull. In that case, the Padres would play Tartabull in right, Gwynn in center and Carter in left.

“I’m still trying to do something,” McKeon said, “I just don’t know when, or who I’ll do it with.”

McKeon also had a 45-minute meeting Monday morning with Alan and Randy Hendricks, the agents of free-agent reliever Mark Davis. McKeon refused to budge from his four-year, $12 million offer, and the Hendricks brothers continued negotiations with several teams.

“I’m optimistic unless somebody comes in and totally blows us out of the water,” McKeon said. “But we’re still staying at four years. This is our offer. Take it or leave it.”

Davis is seeking a five-year guaranteed contract, and according to Randy Hendricks, already has received five-year offers from the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Kansas City Royals.

Yount, apparently narrowing his choices to the Angels and Milwaukee Brewers, is not expected to choose until until after the winter meetings end Wednesday.

That decision may have had an effect on the Angels’ efforts to make a deal for Carter.

Angel General Manager Mike Port, while refusing to discuss the specific situation, seemed to say that the Angels would not deal for Carter, who is primarily a left fielder, unless they were certain of Yount.

Presumably, they couldn’t trade Devon White without knowing if they have a center-field replacement in Yount.

“I hate to do anything that would solve one problem (the Angels’ power shortage in this case) only to create another,” Port said.

Yount has apparently gone fishin’.

That’s what, Larry, his agent-brother, told representatives of the Brewers, Padres and Chicago Cubs Monday when they called to inquire into the status of their respective offers.

Why a fishing trip now?

Why no decision until after the winter meetings?

No one seems certain.

Five teams--the Angels, Brewers, Cubs, Padres and Kansas City Royals--have submitted offers for Yount, according to his brother, but only the Angels and Brewers are believed to be under serious consideration.

“The ball is in his court. It’s his decision,” Jackie Autry, wife of the Angel owner, said Monday.

“There’s nothing more to be worked out,” she added when asked if negotiations with the Younts were continuing and if problems remained concerning the $5.7 million in loans that Yount received in his last contract with the Brewers.

Yount still owes $5.2 million on the loans and has a $2-million payment due this month and $2 million more in December of 1992.

The Angel offer is believed to include a significant signing bonus designed to relieve Yount’s cash-flow problems.

Jackie Autry said she was unaware that Yount’s decision has been delayed, and Port would not comment.

However, Bud Selig, owner of the Brewers, said he had had a brief and constructive talk with Arizona-based Larry Yount Monday and was told of the delay.

“I have meetings the next two days and won’t have time to talk to Larry,” Selig said. “But that doesn’t bother me. I think it will be awhile (before Robin Yount makes a decision).”

Port and Tom Reich, who represents Angel free-agent catcher Lance Parrish, are continuing what Port called amicable talks about the 33-year-old catcher’s future.

“I would say we’re both looking to achieve the same satisfactory end, that of Lance remaining in Anaheim,” Port said. “But we’re not presuming it’s a fait accompli. We know there’s 25 other clubs competing for his services.”

Escalating player salaries are of concern to Commissioner Fay Vincent, who made his State of the Game address Monday.

“There certainly seems to be to be a joyous and free market,” he said. “The only concern I have, the owners and players have the right to make whatever agreements they want as long as freedom in baseball isn’t impaired for the lesser teams.

“My concerns are structural ones, in that so many teams have smaller revenues. I think the players’ association has some sympathy and awareness of the problem. They recognize the future baseball needs of teams in local markets where the revenues are not enormous.”

In Monday’s only deal, the Yankees acquired pitchers Jeff Robinson and Willie Smith from Pittsburgh for catcher Don Slaught.

Robinson, from Santa Ana, was 7-13 with a 4.58 earned-run average last season in 50 games. He started 19 and relieved in 31.

Smith was 7-5 last season with the Pirates’ Salem, Va., and Harrisburg, Pa., affiliates.

Slaught, 31, hit .251 last season with five home runs and 38 RBIs in 117 game with the Yankees.

Baseball Notes

Dodger triple-A pitcher William Brennan was Houston’s second-round selection in Monday’s major league draft. Brennan, eligible to be selected because he was a nonroster player with three years’ experience, spent five years in the Dodger organization, appearing in four games with the Dodgers in 1988.

Milwaukee named 17-year major league veteran Don Baylor as their batting coach. Baylor, 40, initially joined the Brewers Sept. 5 as a special assistant to General Manager Harry Dalton. The Brewers hope he will be able to communicate with some of their temperamental young stars, particularly shortstop Gary Sheffield.

Times staff writers Ross Newhan, Helene Elliott and Bill Plaschke contributed to this story.