Wednesday night, Rickey Henderson took a walk into the record books. Little did he know that at the same time, he was also taking a walk on the waiver wire.

Baseball sources have told ESPN.com that the Padres this week placed Henderson on "special waivers," which could give them the option to outright Henderson to the minor leagues or release him after he clears waivers Friday.

Special waivers also can't be revoked, meaning that if, by remote chance, any other team claimed Henderson, the Padres couldn't call the waivers back.

When questioned by reporters after the Padres' victory over the Phillies, Henderson said he would not go back to the minors if asked to do so, but refused to answer other reporters' questions.

It appears unlikely, though, that the Padres will send Henderson packing in one of the most historic weeks of his career, although he did enter Thursday's game hitting just .136 (3-for-22) -- he was in the starting lineup against the Phillies. The club does have a roster decision to make in the next week, however, with outfielder Mark Kotsay scheduled to come off the disabled list.

Club officials aren't permitted to discuss waivers. So Padres GM Kevin Towers declined comment Thursday. But when teams place veteran players like Henderson on special waivers, it generally is done to give the club roster flexibility in case of an injury, or when it knows another roster move is coming up.

If the Padres were to cut Henderson loose, it could mean the end of his 23-year career. No team signed him as a free agent this winter. And it wasn't until mid-March that the Padres agreed to bring him in on a low-budget, low-risk basis.

However, with Tony Gwynn still on the disabled list and outfield depth a problem, the Padres may likely hold onto Henderson for now. He just passed Babe Ruth to become the all-time walks leader. He also entered Thursday 67 runs behind Ty Cobb, the career leader in runs scored, and 83 hits shy of 3,000.

A new waiver period starts next Tuesday (May 1). So if Henderson remains with the Padres until then, these waivers would expire and the club would have to ask new waivers on him in order to move him.