Eiland’s Chances for a Job Improving : Baseball: Padre non-roster pitcher could get a spot in the rotation in the wake of elbow injury to starter Ed Whitson.

YUMA, Ariz. —  You haven’t heard too much about him. You might not even know his name. Like it or not, it might be time to start familiarizing yourself with him.

Padre fans, say hello to Dave Eiland.

When the season opens in a month, he very well could be in the Padres’ starting rotation.

“I certainly wouldn’t count it out,” said Joe McIlvaine, Padre general manager. “We may have another Mike Maddux case all over again.”

Eiland, who like Maddux a year ago is attempting to make the team as a non-roster pitcher, was considered a longshot for a starting job when camp opened two weeks ago. The only vacancy in the rotation was for a fifth starter, who seemed destined to be Ricky Bones.

The scenario changed Sunday when starter Ed Whitson sustained a strained flexor tendon in his right elbow. It not only could end his season, but endanger his career.

Whitson attempted to pitch again Monday morning, softly throwing a baseball about 10 feet. He threw two pitches. The pain made it unbearable to continue.

“It felt like somebody stabbed me,” Whitson said. “I’m hoping it’s only a strain, but there could be a tiny tear in that (tendon). I’ve got a feeling it’s a tear.

“And that’s a scary, scary feeling.”

Whitson was examined Monday morning by Dr. Cliff Colwell, who reported there was no swelling. Still, Whitson said, the pain was worse than Sunday.

Whitson telephoned orthopedist specialist Dr. James Andrews, who performed his elbow surgery last July, in an attempt to find some answers. Andrews provided no comfort. He was concerned because the pain was in the same location as a year ago, and told Whitson there’s definitely tendinitis, if not tendon damage.

“I’m supposed to call him Friday morning and tell him how it’s coming,” Whitson said. “If it’s the same, or any worse on Friday, I’m going to have to fly out and have him take a look for himself.”

The Padres will wait before making decisions on Whitson’s status. They still hold out hope that it’s tendinitis, and will disappear with medication.

“We’re hoping he’ll be all right with rest,” Padre Manager Greg Riddoch said. “We’ll wait two or three days, and see how he responds.”

Still, the Padres have come to the realization that they can’t count on Whitson for the season. They desperately need another starter, and Eiland might be the man.

“We’re taking a strong look at him,” McIlvaine said. “I absolutely love his makeup. He’s got a lot of guts.

“He may not have the best stuff in the world, but he gets those double-play balls.”

Indeed, Eiland’s statistics hardly would leave anyone with a comfortable feeling. He has struck out only 52 batters in 150 innings during his brief big-league career. Last season was his longest stay in the major leagues, spending all but two months with the Yankees, finishing with a 2-5 record and 5.33 ERA.

“I don’t know what he’s done in the past, and I don’t know anything about his stats,” said Padre right fielder Tony Gwynn, “but I’m telling you this guy can pitch. He’s got a great arm, and a nasty slider.”

Eiland, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound football and baseball player at the University of Florda, indeed has been the talk around the batting cage this spring. Hitters rave about his arm. Pitchers talk of his ability. His two-inning hitless performance in the Padres’ opener against the Angels on Friday has the front-office beaming.

“I’ve been trying to get the guy for years,” McIlvaine said. “I wanted him back when I was with the Mets. He could turn out to be a big acquisition for us.”

The only reason the Padres were able to get their hands on Eiland, 25, was because the Yankees ran into a roster problem. They signed free-agents Danny Tartabull and Mike Gallego in January, and needed a spot on their 40-man roster.

The Yankees telephoned Eiland, and told him they were going to place him on waivers for the purpose of an unconditional release. The Yankees told him he still was wanted for the 1992 season, even offering $140,000 if he made the big-league team, but just couldn’t keep him on the roster.

They released him at 2 p.m., Jan. 24.

Four hours later, he blew off the Yankees, and signed with the Padres for $5,000 less than the Yankees offered.

Eiland, the International League’s pitcher of the year in 1990 with a 16-5 record, 2.87 ERA, says he was treated unfairly by the Yankees. He remembers trying to pitch with a bruised heel the first two months of the season, and they acted as if he was a lousy pitcher. By the time he returned from the disabled list in July, he was out of their plans, and thrown into the bullpen for the first time in his career.

Eiland is scheduled to pitch today against the Chicago Cubs, following Craig Lefferts, who’ll be making his first start. If he has another strong performance, he could be targeted as Whitson’s possible replacement, if not at least legitimize his candidacy for the fifth spot.

“I cane here because they had an opening in the rotation,” said Eiland, who signed a triple-A contract. “I don’t want to leave without it.”