CHICAGO — The Los Angeles Dodgers’ biggest swing of the deadline came late Saturday night, when they nailed down yet another blockbuster deal. After weeks of speculation over where he’d end up, Tarik Skubal will make his Dodgers debut Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

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But the Dodgers could argue the final hours leading up to Monday’s trade deadline were their most hectic. When an MRI revealed an elbow strain for Dalton Rushing, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes knew they needed to shore up catching depth. That led to two trades for two backstops, another trade for a former All-Star starting pitcher and an option of Emmet Sheehan, who had spent the whole season in the majors.

By the deadline, the Dodgers completed four trades, including one for their most coveted target. Let’s break down the Dodgers’ deadline and where things stand heading into the final eight weeks of the regular season.

What trades did the Dodgers make?

• Acquired left-hander Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for No. 26 overall prospect outfielder Zyhir Hope (Double A), No. 4o prospect right-hander River Ryan (Triple A) and right-hander Brady Smith (Class A)

• Acquired catcher Ben Rortvedt (AAA) from the New York Mets for right-hander Chayce McDermott (designated for assignment July 31)

• Acquired left-hander Kris Bubic from the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Carlos Duran (AAA)

• Acquired catcher Hunter Feduccia and right-hander Jacob Kmatz (AA) from the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Jack Suwinski (AAA) and international bonus pool money

How did Rushing’s injury change their deadline plans?

With Will Smith (neck) out for at least three to four more weeks, the Dodgers had preliminary conversations regarding their catching depth in the weeks leading up to the deadline. It was a need, but not major, and there weren’t many catchers on the market who fit the Dodgers’ criteria. They were not looking for someone to unseat Rushing, who took over everyday reps when Smith went on the injured list in June, and had earned the bulk of the playing time.

But the Dodgers did not want to be caught unprepared should a sudden injury arise to Rushing. That’s exactly what happened Sunday afternoon, when Rushing was scratched with an arm irritation. An MRI showed a mild right elbow strain, giving the Dodgers no choice but to place Rushing on the IL, leaving them without their top two catchers for at least the next few weeks.

The Dodgers briefly discussed what bringing back Rortvedt would look like earlier in July, but did not make substantial progress until Sunday evening, upon learning the severity of Rushing’s injury. Given the vast talent of the Dodgers’ pitching staff, Friedman and company prioritized finding someone familiar with the club and its pitchers. It did not take long for Friedman to land Rortvedt, which he has now done three times since last July. Bringing back Feduccia, whom the Dodgers traded at last year’s deadline (for Rortvedt), added insurance.

Eliezer Alfonzo started Monday’s 10-5 loss to the Cubs, with Chuckie Robinson called up from Triple A to serve as the emergency catcher. Rortvedt and Feduccia are expected to join the team in Chicago on Tuesday. Rortvedt should get most of the starts behind the plate, as the Dodgers configure Feduccia’s workload.

“I think given what Ben did for us last year, us knowing him, him knowing a lot of our guys, being more of a guy that’s been around for a while, I could see him taking a lion’s share for the foreseeable future,” manager Dave Roberts said.

The Dodgers hope Rushing will not miss much time, but they are known to downplay initial injury timelines. With Smith not expected back until the end of August at the earliest, and Rushing’s future unclear, their best bet was stockpiling trusted depth as stopgaps.

“There was no one incident,” Roberts said. “Dalton said that he’s had bouts of this in the past. So that’s, I guess, a good thing that he’s dealt with it. But I don’t think anyone knows how long it’s going to be.”

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How does the
rotation stack up?

Not only will Tuesday serve as Skubal’s first game as a Dodger, but it will also be a big day for two other star starters: Blake Snell is set for his final scheduled rehab start, and Tyler Glasnow is scheduled to make his first. Though Shohei Ohtani has not pitched in a game since July 3, Friedman reiterated his confidence in Ohtani’s returning to the rotation this season.

But for as powerful as their playoff rotation projects to be, the Dodgers felt the need to shore up enough depth to continue with a six-man rotation through the regular season. Roki Sasaki has turned in three strong starts to kick off the second half but needs to establish better consistency down the stretch. Justin Wrobleski turned in an All-Star-worthy first half but is close to surpassing his career innings total in a season — though the Dodgers have not detected any signs of fatigue. Emmet Sheehan, who has struggled throughout the season, was optioned to Triple A on Monday. He’ll remain stretched out as a starter and is scheduled to start Saturday for Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers hope by taking the pressure off performing in the major leagues, Sheehan will be able to re-establish the consistency in his delivery, which should lead to the sustainable velocity he’s lacked this year.

“We’ve seen flashes of really good, and then some inconsistency,” Gomes said. “I think this is an opportunity to hit the reset button, get him in a really good place and then make sure that he’s a weapon for us.”

The likelihood Sasaki, Wrobleski and Sheehan will crack the postseason rotation is slim. But they could be valuable arms out of the bullpen. That’s how the Dodgers look at Bubic as well. The 28-year-old left-hander has been sidelined since mid-May, first with a forearm injury and now with shoulder soreness. He threw his first bullpen Monday, according to Gomes, and the Dodgers believe he could return by the end of the season.

“It’s incredibly helpful to make sure that we are balancing regular-season wins — obviously being the most important to win the division and get a bye — while also making sure we’re doing everything we can to maintain health and give guys proper rest whenever we can,” Gomes said. “With the way a lot of these guys are throwing, we have the ability to do that and make sure that we’re not redlining anybody right now and line things up for what we hope is a deep October run.”

The Dodgers’ goal is to roster their best 14 arms in October regardless of role. They believe Bubic will factor into that number.

“Biggest thing with Kris is we know what he’s capable of,” Gomes said. “He’s been an All-Star and able to be a dominant force both out of the pen and as a starter. Our plan right now is to run him out as a reliever and just get him healthy and try to get him back to that version he was prior to this year.”

What about moves they didn’t do?

The Dodgers explored trades of left-hander Eric Lauer and outfielder Alex Call but decided to keep both players.

“It’s my understanding that they will both be on our roster for the rest of the year,” Roberts said. “I really give our front office a lot of credit, just talking to those guys consistently and getting a grasp on their wishes. And both those guys really wanted to be here.”

Lauer had been one of the team’s most valuable arms, solely for his ability to take the ball each week and provide a quality outing, which allowed Los Angeles to preserve the six-man rotation vital to the workloads of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani and Sasaki. Though he was originally slated in a bulk role when Skubal was acquired, Lauer will start Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs. He is likely to revert to the bullpen, assuming Snell is activated next week.

The Dodgers were not able to line up on a partner for Call. Their active roster is predominantly right-handed, which clogs up some of the lineup decisions for Roberts. But Gomes pointed to the team’s positional flexibility.

“The good thing with the roster is a lot of our guys are fairly balanced, and there’s just not a ton of platoons to run,” Gomes said. “So it’s definitely skewed towards right-handed hitting, but I think we’ve had similar constructs in the past and a ton of guys that can play in different places. So you know, right-left, maybe not totally balanced, but we feel good about our guys handling really anybody.”

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This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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