It’s conceivable Hudson’s wrist won’t be 100 percent by Opening Day and DeWitt could still make the club. As for a utility role, Torre implied that a healthy Tony Abreu would be more likely because he can play shortstop, presumably with DeWitt playing every day at Triple-A. But Abreu needs to show he’s shaken two years of injuries.

Torre indicated a healthy switch-hitting Hudson would be a good fit to bat second behind Rafael Furcal and that he might move Casey Blake to left field (and DeWitt to third), but that was more a double-switch option than for everyday positioning. Torre emphasized he still is counting on unsigned free agent Manny Ramirez to start in left field.

While Hudson might seem injury prone, he’s also the kind of player for which nobody has a bad thing to say.

“He’s a solid dude, a teammate everybody loves,” said Juan Pierre, who attended Hudson’s wedding in November. “Some opponents might take offense at players who are energetic and talkative, but that’s just him and you can tell about a guy by the way teammates talk about it.”

Claudio Vargas, now fighting for a Dodgers’ pitching spot, was a D-backs teammate of Hudson in 2006.

“He’s a happy guy, he plays hard, he’s a good teammate who fights for everybody,” said Vargas. “This is a great deal for us to get him.”