DODGERS NOTEBOOK: FORMER MLB PITCHER NEW VICE PRESIDENT OF SCOUTING.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

The Dodgers filled three front-office vacancies Tuesday, the most notable of which was hiring former major-league pitcher Roy Smith as vice president of scouting and player development.

As expected, minor-league field coordinator Terry Collins was promoted to director of player development. Also, Dan Feinstein, formerly an assistant in the Oakland A's scouting department, joins the Dodgers as coordinator of baseball operations.

Smith, 43, spent the past 11 seasons in the Pittsburgh front office, the past five as assistant general manager, and served as the Pirates' interim general manager for five weeks in 2001 between the time Cam Bonifay was fired and Dave Littlefield was hired.

Smith's new position will give Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta a Los Angeles presence to oversee the club's amateur, professional and international scouting operations, as well as the minor-league system. Amateur scouting director Logan White is based in Phoenix, international scouting director Rene Francisco lives near Miami, and Collins lives in St. Petersburg, Fla.

``But at the same time, all those guys will maintain autonomy in those roles,'' DePodesta said. ``Logan will run the draft, Terry will run player development and Rene will continue to run our international operations.''

All of which suits Smith just fine.

``I think we're in pretty good hands (with White, Collins and Francisco),'' Smith said. ``I'm not a meddler. You don't try to fix something that isn't broken. That's not my management style.''

Smith is a former minor-league teammate of Billy Beane, the Oakland GM and DePodesta's mentor.

``I have known Roy for maybe six years, and I knew of him before that,'' DePodesta said. ``He's a guy I have been thinking about throughout the course of the year. I actually brought him up to (Dodgers owner) Frank McCourt during my interview process as a guy who would be a great fit with me, fill in the gaps in my background and hopefully complement me very well.''

DePodesta said he, Smith and vice president/assistant general manager Kim Ng will form something of a ``triumvirate'' when it comes to making major decisions. Ng, who is in charge of arbitration and contracts, is relieved of the added burden of running the minor-league operation, a duty she shared with Collins last season while the player development director's job was vacant.

Smith figures to make his biggest impact in the area of professional scouting, which no longer has a director. That position was eliminated last month, with Matt Slater being reassigned to a major-league scouting position.

``I'll just take it as it comes,'' Smith said. ``It all comes down to how much interaction (DePodesta) has with the pro (scouting) staff. I'll just kind of see where I'm needed.''

Slater is waiting to see what opportunities open up elsewhere in baseball before signing a contract. Although that issue is still pending, DePodesta's front-office restructuring plan is more or less complete.

Collins, 55, a former manager of the Angels and Houston Astros, was a finalist for the New York Mets managerial vacancy until last week, when that job went to Willie Randolph. It has long been assumed that the farm director's job was his whenever DePodesta decided to fill it.

``Along with Kim Ng, Terry ran our player development system last season and did a phenomenal job, so the decision to promote him was an easy one,'' DePodesta said.

--Tracy update: DePodesta said he planned to speak with Alan Hendricks, the agent for Jim Tracy, on Tuesday night to continue negotiations on what both parties hope will lead to a new contract for the Dodgers' manager. But less than a week after saying he wasn't considering alternatives in the event, no agreement could be reached, DePodesta was noticeably more vague when pressed on that subject Tuesday.

``Obviously, I always have to prepare, no matter what the situation,'' he said. ``But (considering alternatives) isn't something that's taking up a lot of my time.''

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com