Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News has an interesting thought:
"There could be an upside to the Manny Ramirez suspension in LA," he writes. "The Dodgers will save paying him more than $7 million while he sits out 50 games, which could provide the scratch to trade for another big-time pitcher before the July 31 deadline."
Assuming the Dodgers had a bit of money left in the budget entering the 2009 season, and, combined with the $7.7MM they won't have to pay Manny, it seems the club will be able to afford a marquee guy before the July 31 trade deadline. Baggarly assumes they'll be in the hunt for a pitcher.
Could Ben Sheets still be around? Will Roy Halladay be available, and do the Dodgers have enough to spin a trade? How about Erik Bedard? Check out MLBTR's list of 2010 free agents for more possible trade candidates.
