After all the talk this offseason about signing Manny Ramirez, it appears as if he's not the only one who could be targeted. Sources close to the team are saying that within the next few days, both Manny and Orlando Hudson could land in LA.
We all know the impact of getting Manny back would have. He basically is the difference between the offense being a factor every night and having to scratch and claw for every run like before. If he's there, the confidence of the Dodgers would understandably be sky-high.
So now, let's focus on Hudson. The "O-Dog" played his last 3 years with the Arizona Diamondbacks as their 2nd baseman. He declared himself a free agent in the offseason hoping to find a big deal, but that hasn't happened. Coming to the Dodgers would probably be only for a year and between $5-$7 million.
Offensively, he's not at all a power hitter, maybe getting about 10 homers a year. But he can get on base, as he's gathered OBP% of .367 and .378 the last couple of seasons. The story with him is his incredible fielding ability. He has a career .985 fielding %, to go along with 3 straight Gold Glove awards in 2005-2007. He probably would've extended that last season had he not dislocated his left wrist, forcing him to appear in only 107 games.
We'll see what, if anything, comes from this. Getting Manny is huge, but Hudson would probably be met with mixed feelings. On one hand, he'll make your defense that much better, and can team with Rafael Furcal at the top of the order to set the table. But, that could also stall the development of Blake DeWitt, which I'm not sure is the right thing to do now. We need to remember that DeWitt is still young, so having him be a bench player for now might not be the worst thing in the world.
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