The Padres swapped struggling pitchers with the New York Yankees, acquiring recently demoted reliever Paul Quantrill for Darrell May and Tim Redding, plus cash.

Quantrill and fellow reliever Mike Stanton became the first victims of the Yankees’ roster shake-up when they were designated for assignment Thursday.

Quantrill, a 36-year-old right-hander, was 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in 22 appearances this year.

“We’re getting an experienced reliever who’s pitched in the postseason and will add depth to our bullpen,” Padres general manager Kevin Towers said Saturday.

Neither May nor Redding was able to solidify the No. 5 spot in the Padres’ rotation. May, obtained in an offseason trade with Kansas City, struggled so much in spring training that the Padres obtained Redding in a trade with the Houston Astros.

Although May recently beat Johan Santana and the Minnesota Twins, he was 1-3 with a 5.61 ERA. Redding was 0-5 with a 9.10 ERA. He spent more than a month on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.

The Padres were expected to fill the open roster spots by activating utility player Eric Young from the disabled list and recalling right-handed reliever Brian Falkenborg from Triple-A Portland. Young dislocated his right shoulder making a catch against the center field fence on April 7 against Pittsburgh.

General manager Brian Cashman met Tuesday in Tampa, Fla., with owner George Steinbrenner and the team’s top executives, and the group discussed how to jump-start a team that has struggled all season.

“Somewhere in April our team bus hit a black cat,” Cashman said. “We’re looking to shake things up and try to find some way to get this thing going in the right direction.”

“Mike Stanton and Paul Quantrill are two of some of the best people I’ve met,” Cashman said. “They’re fighters and they stand for all the good stuff. But ultimately, the performance hasn’t come at the same time, and that’s what this is all about. It’s not just them, this club’s guilty of a lot of different things.”

The Yankees are responsible for Quantrill’s $3 million salary this year and a $400,000 buyout of a $3.6 million 2006 option they declined in December. They also are responsible for Stanton’s $4 million salary, although they did receive $975,000 from the New York Mets when they acquired him in December for Felix Heredia.

Stanton, a 38-year-old lefty in his second tour with the Yankees, was 1-2 with a 7.07 ERA in 28 games, allowing a game-ending homer to Brian Roberts on Tuesday night at Baltimore on his first pitch.

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With Kevin Brown still on the disabled list because of his bad back, New York also must come up with another starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game against Baltimore. Sean Henn flopped when given the opportunity to fill the slot, dropping to 0-3 with an 11.12 ERA.

Brown threw on flat ground for around 10 minutes Thursday in Tampa, Fla., his second throwing session in two days.

“I just don’t think he’d be an option for us,” Cashman said. “I just think it would be too early.”

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