Malone Defends Moves

Dodger General Manager Kevin Malone is being ridiculed throughout baseball for trading catcher Charles Johnson and outfielder Roger Cedeno during the off-season to acquire catcher Todd Hundley, who was coming off reconstructive elbow surgery in 1997.

Malone was eager to acquire Hundley in the three-team deal with the New York Mets and Baltimore Orioles because he believed the switch-hitter would provide the left-handed power the Dodgers have long lacked. However, Malone’s plan appears to have failed.

Hundley has battled lingering problems from the surgery since the start of spring training. Manager Davey Johnson on Tuesday relegated Hundley to pinch-hitting duty because of his all-around poor play.

Johnson acknowledges he doesn’t know when (or if) Hundley will return to the form he showed before his surgery. Hundley is making $5.2 million this season, and is guaranteed an additional $6.5 million in the remaining two years of his contract.

But Malone is unfazed despite Hundley’s major setback. Malone maintains he made the correct decision based on the situation he inherited.

“I can’t be concerned with what the critics are saying,” he said. “I knew when I came in here that we had limited flexibility [because of multiyear contracts], and limited depth [because of a weak farm system].

“There were only a few moves we could make because of that. We were pretty much locked in and we couldn’t get that [left-handed] bat at any other position [beside catcher].”

Meanwhile, Johnson--a four-time Gold Glove Award winner--has thrived with the Orioles. Moreover, Cedeno has been among the most surprising players in the major leagues this season.

He has emerged as the Mets’ everyday center fielder, batting .320 and playing well defensively. The switch-hitter leads the major leagues with 35 stolen bases in 40 attempts, and he is eighth in the National League with a .429 on-base percentage.

In fairness to Malone, Cedeno repeatedly failed to establish himself as an everyday player with the Dodgers. Cedeno confided in reporters that he believed some team officials did not want him to succeed, and he always played scared as a result.

But scouts said several teams were interested in Cedeno, 24, because he’s athletic and possesses multiple tools. Should the Dodgers have retained Cedeno, if for no reason other than depth?

“We didn’t feel he’d be one of the people who could help us because he wasn’t going to get an opportunity [in the Dodger outfield],” Malone said. “It was best for him and his career [to go elsewhere]. It was a better opportunity for him.”

Without a doubt.

*

Outfielder Todd Hollandsworth, who has been on the disabled list since June 4, said he felt fine after taking 50 swings during batting practice.

Hollandsworth has been on the disabled list since June 4 because of torn abdominal muscle. He hopes to be activated soon.

“He’s making progress, but this was just the next step in the whole process,” trainer Charlie Strasser said. “We’ll see how he feels [today] and go from there.”

TONIGHT

DODGERS’ CHAN HO PARK (4-3, 4.84 ERA)

vs.

PIRATES’ KRIS BENSON (4-5, 4.84 ERA)

Dodger Stadium, 7

TV--Fox Sports West 2

Radio--KXTA (1150), KWKW (1330)

* Update--Park is making his first start after serving a seven-game suspension for hitting and kicking Angel pitcher Tim Belcher during a 7-4 victory June 5. Park was ejected after igniting the bench-clearing altercation, sitting out one start because of the suspension. The right-hander will be working on 11 days’ rest. “It feels like spring training for me,” he said. “That’s a lot of time [between starts]. I just hope all my pitches will work for me.” Benson, the No. 1 pick in the 1996 amateur draft, has lost two in a row after winning three of his previous four decisions.