So much for the Dodgers receiving an immediate financial windfall from Manny Ramirez's 50-game suspension.
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The team, contrary to initial reports, will not gain an additional $7.7 million in flexibility due to Ramirez's lost salary.
The amount Ramirez will lose is closer to $6.8 million, according to major-league sources — and he will not lose it all at once.
Ramirez's $25 million salary for 2009 is being paid in four installments — $10 million this season, then $5 million without interest in each of the following three years.
He will be docked in each installment. The Dodgers' savings will amount to about $2.73 million this season and about $1.37 million in each of the following three years.
The difference is immense — the Dodgers will have about $5 million less available for '09 than initially reported. They likely will spend the extra $2.73 million on pitching, if they spend it at all, sources say. Any hitter the Dodgers might acquire would become superfluous once Ramirez returned in early July.
Ramirez, meanwhile, will lose $6.8 million instead of $7.7 million because players are paid over 183 days, not 162 games. The salary he forfeits will be calculated accordingly.
