CINCINNATI -- Ken Caminiti. Steve Finley. Kevin Brown. Joey Hamilton. As the list of departed San Diego Padres grew, outfielder Greg Vaughn grew a little more curious about what was going on with the defending NL champions.
Still, he was shocked when he learned Tuesday he is the latest to go.The Padres traded Vaughn and pinch-hit specialist Mark Sweeney to the Cincinnati Reds for often-injured outfielder Reggie Sanders and two minor leaguers. Vaughn, who set a club record by hitting 50 homers last season, can't comprehend the Marlinesque move.
"I just came from the dentist. I thought they'd slipped me something, that it wasn't real," Vaughn said. "I had to pinch the other side of my mouth to make sure I wasn't dreaming."
The trade allowed Reds fans to dream a little. General manager Jim Bowden has acquired 16-game winner Denny Neagle and now a 50-home-run hitter in the offseason, filling the biggest holes in a rebuilding team geared towards a new stadium for 2003.
"This allows us to compete," Bowden said. "I think that with the moves we made, we can compete. I'm not saying we can overtake Houston or Atlanta or Los Angeles. But I don't see why we can't compete on a daily basis with the next set of clubs."
The question in San Diego is whether the Padres will be in shape to compete for another World Series. A few weeks after they got swept by the New York Yankees, the Padres got voter approval for a new baseball stadium that seemed to indicate a bright future.
Vaughn is wondering about the franchise's direction.
"I think all the players were misled," Vaughn said. "Everyone I've talked to is a little disappointed in the fact that all we were told is if we got the stadium, we could be kept together to compete, to be right there. Then all of a sudden now, it's like it's a whole new team."
In that sense, it's reminiscent of the Florida Marlins, who won the World Series in 1997 and then slashed their payroll. The Padres haven't done it to the same extreme and insist there's little similarity.
General manager Kevin Towers said the Padres traded Vaughn in part because they didn't think they could afford him after this season, when he'll make $5.75 million in the final year of his contract. Sanders makes $3.7 million this season and has an option for the same amount in 2000.
"To stay competitive, you've got to distribute the dollars around. If you put it all into one guy or two guys, you're going to have a hard time staying competitive," Towers said.
The Padres also got middle infielder Damian Jackson, 25, who has spent the last three seasons at Triple-A, and Josh Harris, 21, who pitched for Class A Burlington. Jackson batted .261 in 131 games for Indianapolis last year.
The Reds needed a power hitter -- they hit only 138 homers last season -- and traded Bret Boone, their leader with 24, to Atlanta. But Bowden figured they couldn't afford one until they got closer to their new stadium.
When the Padres called last Thursday and offered Vaughn, Bowden lobbied managing executive John Allen to increase the payroll to more than $30 million and make the deal possible. Allen approved.