Whether Dodger manager Jim Tracy's hyperbolic and brittle comments about a possible trade (I doubt that any reporter had the optimism to suggest that the Dodgers could procure a "savior.") are meant to convince himself or his players, these facts remain:

No, the Dodgers do not need to tear their team apart.

No, the Dodgers should not empty out what's left of their farm system.

Yes, the Dodgers should make any trade that can improve the team, short-term and long-term.

I've identified the players whom I see as the most likely acquisition candidates. They come from contending teams that are poor in the Dodgers' No. 1 strength: relief pitching. (This includes a team like Minnesota, whose bullpen is decent, but might use another reliever to push Johan Santana into the starting rotation.)

In most of these cases, a Guillermo Mota and a prospect of decent promise might suffice in a trade. In the case of a team like the Yankees, they might actually want the more expensive, name reliever like Paul Shuey - and might ask that the Dodgers take a Jeff Weaver in return. And for the superstar players, the Dodgers would probably have to ask themselves if they could part with Odalis Perez.

The big guiding principle: the Dodgers must make sure they acquire a player who can rake right-handed pitching.

Here are the teams, with their bullpen ERA:

Cincinnati, 5.42
Kansas City, 5.04
Toronto, 4.91
Boston, 4.89
St. Louis, 4.60
Pittsburgh, 4.57
Minnesota, 4.43
Florida, 4.39
Chicago White Sox, 4.12
New York Yankees, 3.96

Here are the players, with their at-bats, home-run totals and OPS against righties:

Skipping Rocks
These players aren't battle or media-tested, but might be useful:

Aaron Guiel, Kansas City, OF: 49, 2, .894
Howie Clark, Toronto, UT: 40, 0, .930

Making Waves
Flawed? Yeah. And yet every one could bat cleanup on the Dodgers.

Aaron Boone, Cincinnati, 2B: 236, 12, .847
Frank Catalanotto, Toronto, UT: 248, 6, .877
J.D. Drew, St. Louis, OF: 124, 8, .984
Jose Guillen, Cincinnati, OF: 150, 13, 1.095
Jacque Jones, Minnesota, OF: 212, 9, .860
Kevin Millar, Boston, 1B/OF: 174, 8, .969
Doug Mientkiewicz, Minnesota, moveable 1B: 164, 3, .872
Trot Nixon, Boston, OF: 179, 8, .993

Cannonball
Hard to imagine that teams in the playoff hunt would give these guys up, unless they are really stupid or really forward-thinking:

Carlos Beltran, Kansas City, OF: 156, 9, .932
Brian Giles, Pittsburgh, OF: 151, 6, .945
Mike Lowell, Florida, 3B: 236, 16, .922
Closing thoughts:

1) No one from the Yankees or White Sox seems like a viable target for the Dodgers.

2) With Brian Jordan and Dave Roberts gimpy, it would seem to make more sense to acquire an outfielder now, rather than worry about benching Adrian Beltre.

3) With 10 legitimate candidates on the table plus three superstars, it's hard to believe that there isn't one trade out there that could help both teams, and therefore be made.