Dodgers Give Tracy Two Years

The curiously protracted contract negotiations between the Dodgers and Manager Jim Tracy concluded Wednesday with the announcement of a two-year extension described by the normally effusive Tracy as something he “can live with.”

General Manager Paul DePodesta told Tracy in August that a new contract would be imminent, and when the Dodgers went on to win the National League West, giving Tracy four winning records in as many seasons, retaining him became only a question of when.

However, the two sides couldn’t agree on the amount of Tracy’s raise from the $575,000 he made last season. The longer the issue remained unresolved, the more it appeared the Dodgers were unwilling to pay Tracy the going rate for a manager with his credentials.

Neither Tracy nor DePodesta would disclose the amount of the extension, but a baseball official said it was worth a total of about $1.8 million, including incentives. Tracy accepted the deal when the Dodgers increased the offer just before he drove to Ventura to play golf Wednesday with two of his sons.

“There was some back and forth with [negotiations],” Tracy said. “They moved far enough to where I could say, ‘I can live with it. My family can live with it.’

“Being comfortable financially at this time in my career was important, and knowing that if things were not to work out that I’m not completely left out in the cold.”

Tracy, 48, was third in NL manager-of-the-year voting after guiding the Dodgers to a 93-69 record, their first division title since 1995 and their highest victory total since 1991. He is 356-292 and his .549 winning percentage ranks second to Felipe Alou among current managers in their first four seasons.

Tracy did not seriously contemplate seeking another job, even when contract talks got sticky.

“I never wanted to leave the Dodgers,” he said. “We’ve done terrific things.”

This is DePodesta’s first off-season with the team. His first order of business was to retain Tracy, and he characterized the negotiations as business as usual -- despite the fact that talks lasted two weeks longer than the loose deadline of the general manager meetings he mentioned in October.

“We were all hopeful it would get done sooner, but there was no panic,” DePodesta said. “It never got contentious and we never felt it wouldn’t get done. We weren’t exploring other options and neither was he.

“A lot of times new management has it set in mind they want to bring in a new guy. What we’ve done with [Tracy] is somewhat unusual.”

Tracy did not want a club option beyond the two-year term, a change from his last contract. However, he did want to be paid the industry standard for a manager with his track record.

“I don’t know that there is such a thing,” DePodesta said. “Manager salaries are all over the board. At the end of the day, we are all happy. What we agreed to is fair.”

Tracy wants to retain his entire coaching staff, although bench coach Jim Riggleman is pursuing another position and might not return.

DePodesta and Tracy did not discuss potential trades and free-agent signings until the extension was official. In their first conversation regarding personnel, DePodesta told the manager the Dodgers already have made offers to more than one free agent.

“But for the most part we’ve been in contact with free agents to make sure we are still in the game,” DePodesta said.

Bolstering the starting rotation and signing a catcher are top priorities along with trying to re-sign third baseman Adrian Beltre, who finished second in the NL most-valuable-player voting after hitting 48 home runs. DePodesta has been in frequent contact with Beltre’s agent, Scott Boras, but said that he did not expect Beltre to decide soon whether he would return to the Dodgers.

As for Tracy, he is happy to turn his attention from his contract to the Dodger roster.

“There is unfinished business to attend to,” he said. “There are adjustments to make with the club.”

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Times staff writer Tim Brown contributed to this report.

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Tracy’s Mark

How the Dodgers have fared under Manager Jim Tracy and where they finished in the NL West:

*--* Year Won Lost Pct Fin 2001 86 76 531 3 2002 92 70 568 3 2003 85 77 525 2 2004 93 69 574 *1 Totals 356 292 549 *Lost in division series to St. Louis, 3-1

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Dodger Skippers

Managers in Los Angeles Dodger history, with their records:

* Walter Alston, 1958-76 (1,673-1,566)

* Tom Lasorda, 1977-96 (1,599-1,439)

* Bill Russell, 1996-98 (173-149)

* Glenn Hoffman, 1998 (47-41)

* Davey Johnson, 1999-2000 (163-161)

* Jim Tracy, 2001- (356-292)