Rader Gets New 2-Year Contract : Angels: Team says it will put a renewed emphasis on scouting and development of players.

Having discovered the unreliability of stop-gap trades and quick fixes through free agency, the Angels began a philosophical retrenchment Thursday by rehiring Manager Doug Rader and pledging renewed emphasis on scouting and development.

“The one thing I desperately want to do is be part of the cure,” said Rader, who agreed to a two-year contract extension after extracting promises from General Manager Mike Port that the club will shore up its scouting and minor league operations.

Rader plans a scouting trip to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, talent-laden areas long left unmined by the Angels, and the club will hire more scouts and minor league instructors. Rader indicated that the coaching staff will remain intact.

Rader, whose second one-year contract expires after this season, had insisted on a two-year term and might not have returned had one year been the club’s final offer.

Port said Angel owner Gene Autry and his Autry’s wife, Jackie, were receptive to Rader’s request. Discussions intensified over the last two weeks, and an agreement was delayed by several details, one of which reportedly is a buyout clause in the second year of the contract.

“The duration of my contract was important to me personally because we need to start looking at things on a long-term basis,” said Rader, who compiled a 91-71 record in challenging for the American League West title for much of 1989 and has guided an injury-riddled team to a 74-75 record this season.

“In two years, we can broaden our talent basis, pool, supply. Without a two-year commitment, I don’t think we could have had everything headed in the right direction. . . .

“We’re not looking at a fire sale and starting at the grass roots. Look at where we are now and last year--the difference is 10 wins and 10 losses. If you just get a few of the right people in the clubhouse, you can make a geometric progression.”

The Angel system has produced several key players on the roster, among them pitchers Bryan Harvey, Kirk McCaskill and Chuck Finley and infielders Wally Joyner and Dick Schofield. After stumbling in 1987 and ‘88, however, the club veered away from home-grown players and began trading youngsters for established players such as Johnny Ray and Bert Blyleven. The Angels’ most celebrated--and expensive--free-agent acquisition is $16-million left-hander Mark Langston, who has a 9-16 record.

“We want to re-emphasize our developmental approach,” Port said. “That’s why you sign players to begin with. Certainly we have as many, if not more, of our own players on our roster than other teams’, but in this division, the standard we’re held to is Oakland.”

Thursday’s announcement was greeted with approval by Angel players, including some who haven’t always agreed with how Rader has deployed them.

“I think it’s great,” said outfielder Dante Bichette, whom Rader has not used regularly since mid-season. “Hopefully they’ll give him the power to do the things he wants and get something going here. I think they’re going to do some things in the off-season to move toward having a set lineup. Whether that includes me, I don’t know. Somewhere, I’ll play.”

Said Chili Davis: “I don’t think you can judge a person on one or two years. They’re showing they believe in him and that he can get the job done as manager. I’m glad for him. he’s busted his . . . to try and make this team a winning ballclub.”

Pitcher Willie Fraser, who was demoted to triple-A Edmonton for two weeks in May, lauded Rader.

“It wasn’t his fault I was sent down,” Fraser said. “That was my own fault. I think it’s worked out great that he’s coming back. I don’t think he has everything he wants on this team. With him coming back, this winter is going to be very interesting. He knows what he wants and needs. It won’t be dull this winter.”