ACE OF TRADES?

Despite recent struggles and injury history, the Mets still could find a team that wants to acquire Santana Andy Martino,

WASHINGTON — Will Johan Santana have any trade value this winter? The question might seem a bit silly after the lefty’s latest shellacking on Friday night, and will be nearly moot if the Mets shut Santana down in the near future. But if the former ace is as healthy as many Mets people claim, and he stabilizes before the end of the year, could the team eat money and move him? The Daily News ran this question by several scouts and rival executives. One general manager floated an interesting suggestion: the suddenly flush Los Angeles Dodgers. “I don’t have a feel for what his market would be — especially with (the) Dodgers added in the mix,” the GM said in an email.

The logic behind speculating about the Dodgers and Santana, which we ran by several other baseball folks after hearing that suggestion, involves Los Angeles’ recent willingness to assume more salary than most other clubs.

Under new ownership, which purchased the team for about $2 billion in May, the Dodgers placed a waiver claim on 33-year-old Cliff Lee earlier this month. Although the Phillies decided not to unload Lee’s salary, Los Angeles risked assuming nearly $100 million of an aging pitcher’s contract.

Santana is not Cliff Lee, not in 2012. He underwent major shoulder surgery in September of 2010 and has allowed six earned runs or more in five consecutive starts, a Mets record. But he also pitched a no-hitter this season — and allowed three hits in eight innings at Dodger Stadium on June 30, nearly a month after that