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It is believed that MLB is going to announce Biogenesis suspensions on Thursday or Friday, pushing any decisions beyond the trade deadline. MLB has said they have around 20-25 names they plan to punish in some way.
The unfortunate thing is that they're waiting until the deadline has passed to announce which teams will now have to compete without their best players. If the suspensions were made public before the deadline, teams would have a chance to replace the players they might lose.
Nelson Cruz of the Rangers and Jhonny Peralta of the Tigers are two players that would leave their teams with a hole to fill if they are suspended. Do teams trade for a backup plan or do they sit tight and hope their players can appeal?
Alex Rodriguez and Francisco Cervelli could leave the Yankees with no upgrades at third base or catcher and if the team knew for sure ahead of time they could possibly find a way to replace them. If Cervelli faces a 50 game suspension he would likely take the punishment since the hope for his season is already bleak. Alex Rodriguez would likely appeal his punishment because MLB is seeking a suspension that would take him out of the 2013 and 2014 seasons, so he has reason to fight, and could then play. Still, Bud Selig has the power to ban him if it is determined he is hurting Major League Baseball's image, but that ability will surely be used as leverage to get him to agree to a suspension. The Yankees could end up with less reinforcements than they thought they were going to get.
The Biogenesis suspensions are the wild card of the trade deadline, but the problem is it only comes into play after it's too late.