5 Dominoes to Fall After Hanley Ramirez's Trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers

While most of the country was fast asleep in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti was working the phones. 

Choosing to forgo sleep worked out for Colletti, as he pulled off a trade for Miami Marlins shortstop/third baseman Hanley Ramirez right around 3 a.m. ET.

The Dodgers are rolling the dice with this deal. They didn't have to give up much to get Ramirez, but that forced them to agree to take on the rest of Ramirez's contract. He's owed more than $30 million over the next two seasons. He's only going to be worth that much money if he goes back to hitting like he was a few years ago.

Still, money is one thing the Dodgers have a lot of. And before this trade, they didn't have a ton of power on the left side of their infield. For them, the Ramirez trade is a risk well worth taking.

This trade is all done. Signed, sealed and delivered. The word from Joe Capozzi of The Palm Beach Post is that Ramirez will make his Dodgers debut on Wednesday in St. Louis against the Cardinals.

Great. Now what happens?

A couple things, actually. The Ramirez trade is going to have a sort of domino effect. Ahead of you is a rundown of what you can expect to happen next.

The Dodgers Will Try to Find a Taker for Juan Uribe

Have you laughed yet?

Yeah, I don't blame you. I would too at the suggestion that the Dodgers might be able to find a team to take Juan Uribe off their hands.

The odds of this actually happening are slim, but Colletti will at least give it a shot. Uribe is no longer needed in Los Angeles now that Ramirez is in town.

It should be acknowledged that he was indeed needed up until Colletti acquired Ramirez. He's logged more time at third base than any Dodgers player this season, and keeping him out of the lineup has proven to be difficult for Don Mattingly ever since Dee Gordon went down with an injury.

The word from the Dodgers' official website is that Ramirez is going to fill in at short until Gordon is healthy, which leaves Mattingly a choice between Uribe, Luis Cruz, Jerry Hairston and Adam Kennedy to handle third base duties.

Uribe is the odd man out in that foursome by a long shot. Colletti can banish him to the bench, designate him for assignment, flat-out release him or make a few calls and see if there are any GMs out there who won't immediately hang up upon hearing Uribe's name.

Uribe does have some marketability. At the very least, he's experienced. He still has some power. He's also a guy who could very much benefit from a change of scenery.

Stranger things have happened, and goodness knows that there are teams out there that need help at third base. The Oakland A's come to mind, as do the New York Yankees now that Alex Rodriguez is down and out for the next four to eight weeks.

Giants Will Respond with a Move of Their Own

This time last year, everyone was waiting for the Giants to make a move at the trade deadline. They were, after all, the defending champs, and they definitely had moves to make after watching half their roster get swallowed up by the injury bug.

This year, things are much quieter in San Francisco. Outside of Tim Lincecum's struggles and Brian Wilson's Tommy John surgery, things have gone pretty well for the Giants. The desperation to make a deal that existed last year just isn't there in 2012.

But the Ramirez trade changes things. The Dodgers were already a legitimate threat before. Now they're even more of a threat. To hang on to first place in the NL West, the Giants had better go make an upgrade of their own.

To this end, they have options. At the very least, the Giants will probably make a move to add a reliever. They've been rumored to be looking for bullpen help, and they were recently linked to Cleveland Indians closer Chris Perez by FoxSports.com.

The Giants could also look to add a bat, and they have more incentive than ever before to add a corner infield bat now that they are dealing with a struggling Brandon Belt and a wounded Pablo Sandoval. They could also stand to add a right-handed hitting outfielder, preferably one who can play right field.

It's highly unlikely that the Giants will make a big-splash kind of trade, as they don't have an excess of talent in their minor league system. Plus, Brian Sabean has said that he's not about to make another Carlos Beltran trade after what happened in 2011.

The Giants will do something, though. They were a better team than the Dodgers before, but now it's a toss-up. The Giants need to be safe rather than sorry.

3B-Needy Teams Will Target Chase Headley

Chase Headley was already the most desirable third baseman on the trade market before Ramirez was dealt for a variety of different reasons. Namely, he's young, he's talented and, most importantly, he's cheap.

It's been widely reported, including by ESPN's Buster Olney, that the Padres' asking price for Headley is ridiculously high. This created a sense that he was likely to stay put, as third base-needy teams just weren't going to be willing to pay that price when they had other options like Ramirez and Aramis Ramirez, to name just a couple.

Naturally, the Ramirez trade changes thing.

Now the word from Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com is that there is a "strong probability" that Headley will be dealt. There are supposedly 10 different teams that have expressed interest in Headley, and the Padres have more leverage in trade talks now that Ramirez is off the market.

Don't underestimate just how good Headley is. Per FanGraphs, the only two third basemen in the majors with higher WARs that Headley are David Wright and Miguel Cabrera. Headley is a very good defensive third baseman, and he has a .866 OPS away from Petco Park this season.

You can rest assured that the Padres have a lot of interested parties on the line at the moment, some of whom are desperate to find an upgrade at third base.

Ultimately, the Ramirez trade should end up working out in the Padres' favor.

Marlins Will Trade Josh Johnson

Earlier on Wednesday, Buster Olney tweeted that Miami's original intent was to trade either Ramirez or Josh Johnson. Not both of them.

What the Marlins are quickly finding out is that it's very much in their interest to trade Johnson. The market for him is heating up very quickly.

Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com has listed the Rangers, Angels, Blue Jays and Orioles among the possible suitors for Johnson. He's also tweeted that the Dodgers are interested as well, and Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe has reported that the Red Sox also have some interest in Johnson.

Johnson's appeal to other clubs is not hard to decipher. On any given day, he has no-hit stuff. Just as important, he's under contract through the 2013 season. 

Johnson wasn't really on the radar for a lot of teams as recently as last week, but the Marlins have made it abundantly clear in the last couple of days that they're officially in fire-sale mode, just like the good (or bad, depending on your point of view) old days. 

It will be harder for them to part with Johnson than it was to part with Ramirez because they actually still like Johnson and he's under contract through next season. But at this point, it's just a matter of time before somebody makes the Marlins an offer they can't refuse.

Dodgers Will Execute a Trade for a Starting Pitcher

The Dodgers aren't done wheeling and dealing. They scored a major victory with the Ramirez trade, but Colletti still has upgrades to make.

One thing the Dodgers have made clear over the last several weeks is that they would like nothing more than to add a stud starting pitcher to their rotation. To that end, they've been linked to numerous different options.

I'll make it easy on you by referring to my Dodgers trade rumors tracker, which details everything you need to know about the Dodgers' pursuit of Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Cole Hamels (now off the block), Zack Greinke and Josh Johnson, among others. Colletti hasn't exactly been targeting lightweights.

The beauty of the Ramirez trade is that the Dodgers didn't have to give up any of their top prospects, such as Zach Lee and Allen Webster. They can now trade such players for a coveted starting pitcher.

It's going to happen. It just depends on which one they're going to get.

For what it's worth, my money is on Dempster.

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