The Los Angeles Dodgers mean business in 2012 and they seem to be taking full advantage of players on the trading block. Aside from getting Hanley Ramirez and looking into acquiring Ryan Dempster, they are in reportedly interested in either of the Philadelphia Phillies outfielders Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino.

Victorino had been recently rumored to be an interest of the New York Yankees, but those talks quickly died down as they acquired Ichiro on Monday afternoon. 

Pence, whom the Phillies traded for last season, would be the better addition between the two outfielders. He is younger and most importantly, supplies the pop in the lineup that the Dodgers desperately need if they plan to contend in the National League West.

He is a 20+ homers, 80+ RBI hitter. So far in the season, Pence has 17 home runs with 57 RBI and a .268 batting average. 

Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera, who play left field for the Dodgers, have combined for 7 homers and 50 RBI.

Pence is eligible for arbitration in 2013 and becomes a free agent in 2014. He has been a right fielder all his career while playing for the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies.

Currently, the Phillies are 9 1/2 games behind the National League East leading Washington Nationals. They are 10 games under .500 and are likely to finish at the bottom of the pack. 

It is a different story for the Dodgers who are in second place and trailing the San Francisco Giants by just 2 1/2 games. They are also just half a game behind in the wild card race. 

Adding Hunter Pence will make their lineup deadly. Now the Ramirez has jumped on board, with Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and a healthy Dee Gordon, the Dodgers could have one of the scariest lineups in the majors.