The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser on the A’s negotiations with manager Ken Macha.

The A’s have offered Ken Macha a three-year, $2.6 million contract (which includes an option for a fourth year at $1.2 million), but that might not be enough to get Macha to return as the team’s manager.

The difference between the sides appears to stem from the fact that Macha is no longer discussing an extension — he is now, in effect, a free agent, which has raised his asking price. When Macha was still under contract to the A’s, an offer close to Eric Wedge’s deal with Cleveland ($1.7 million for two years plus two team options at $1 million per year — which isn’t much off Oakland’s current offer) might have done the trick.

Now, however, there are four official managerial positions available, with another one or two likely to become open, and with that increased leverage, Macha is believed to be seeking more than $4 million total, a substantial raise from the $630,000 he earned this past year — and a sum that might deter the A’s from keeping him.