LOFTON SIGNS, CHOI STAYS DODGERS PICK UP OUTFIELDER, RETAIN FIRST BASEMAN.

Byline: Tony Jackson  Staff Writer

Shortly after they officially announced the signing of free-agent center fielder Kenny Lofton to a one-year, $3.85 million contract Tuesday, the Dodgers re-signed Hee-Seop Choi to a one-year, $725,000 deal mere hours before a 9 p.m. deadline to tender offers to players not already signed.

In addition to giving the club insurance at first base and another left-handed bat off the bench, it might have saved the struggling Choi's career.

For now, anyway.

With attempts to trade Choi having been unsuccessful due to lack of interest around baseball, the Dodgers would have non-tendered him had he not agreed to terms. That would have made him a free agent, and the best Choi could have hoped for probably was a minor-league contract with another club and an invitation to big-league spring training.

In essence, this contract presents Choi with the same circumstance. It doesn't contain a standard-guarantee provision, meaning Choi receives only a percentage of his salary if he is released before Opening Day. If he is cut during the final two weeks of camp, Choi will get $178,278. If he is cut earlier than that, he will receive $118,852.

In the season and a half since the Dodgers acquired him from Florida, he has hit 15 homers and driven in 48 runs, but batted only .238 while striking out once every 3.9 at-bats.

As expected, the Dodgers declined to offer a contract to catcher Jason Phillips, making him a free agent less than a year after the club acquired him from the New York Mets for Kazuhisa Ishii. Although Phillips was a bust both offensively and defensively, batting .238 while throwing out just 15 of the 93 runners who attempted to steal on him, Ishii was a horrific 3-9 for the Mets, with a 5.14 ERA. Also a free agent, Ishii remains unsigned.

The Dodgers also created some 40-man roster flexibility by non-tendering infielders Mike Edwards and Brian Myrow.

--Perfect match: Lofton, 38, has played in two World Series and reached the playoffs nine times in his 15 big-league seasons. The fact general manager Ned Colletti's offseason roster overhaul has transformed the Dodgers from laughingstocks to apparent contenders played a huge role in enticing Lofton to sign.

``That made it very attractive,'' Lofton said. ``Right now, they're looking to win, and that's all I'm about. At this point, I feel the Dodgers are making a move forward to put quality guys on the field who have been there and done that and know how to win.''

Lofton, who will be the club's primary center fielder and probably bat second behind Rafael Furcal, clearly is one of those guys.

``In 2002, when he came to the Giants, his impact on the club was immeasurable,'' said Colletti, who was San Francisco's assistant GM and helped orchestrate the trade that brought Lofton to the Giants from the Chicago White Sox. ``Without Kenny Lofton, the Giants don't end up in the postseason or the World Series.''

--Weaver update: The Dodgers can continue to negotiate with free-agent right-hander Jeff Weaver through Jan. 8 even though he declined the club's offer of arbitration. But the chances of Weaver (Simi Valley High) returning appears slim at best.

Scott Boras, Weaver's Los Angeles-based agent, is believed to be seeking a contract close to the four-year, $37.5 million deal Seattle gave former Angels pitcher Jarrod Washburn.

--Wunsch signs: The Dodgers re-signed left-handed reliever Kelly Wunsch to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. If he makes the major-league club Wunsch will receive a base salary of $650,000 with bonuses of $25,000 for each of 40, 50 and 60 appearances.

Tony Jackson,[phone]

tony.jackson(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) After lukewarm interest in attempts to trade Hee-Seop Choi, the Dodgers decided to keep him.

Getty Images

(2 -- color) LOFTON