CHICAGO — With their biggest move already done, the Dodgers used the final hours before the trade deadline to reinforce their formidable roster.

No trade would top their acquisition of two-time American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, but the Dodgers did address catching and pitching needs on Monday.

The Dodgers brought back two catchers who are familiar with their pitching staff. They acquired Ben Rortvedt from the New York Mets for right-hander Chayce McDermott, who they designated for assignment last week. They acquired Hunter Feduccia from the Tampa Bay Rays, along with right-handed prospect Jacob Kmatz (now No. 27 in the Dodgers’ system, according to MLB Pipeline) for triple-A outfielder Jack Suwinski and international bonus pool money.

“It was really important to kind of come in and fit right into the clubhouse and know that our guys have thrown to them, or most of them have thrown to them in the past,” general manager Brandon Gomes said Monday. “So it was a really good fit.”

The Dodgers were looking for an opportunity to add depth behind Dalton Rushing, who has taken on the bulk of the catching duties with Will Smith trying to work back from a neck injury that’s kept him out since early June.

Rushing, however, was scratched from the lineup Sunday before being put on the injured list because of a minor elbow strain.

“I don’t think anyone knows how long it’s going to be,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But I still don’t feel that it’ll be that long.”

The plan is to activate Rortvedt on Tuesday, according to Roberts.

“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,” Roberts said.

As of Monday night, Roberts said Feduccia was en route and could be activated as soon as Tuesday, depending on when he arrives.

Monday marked the third time in a little over a year that the Dodgers have acquired Rortvedt. They traded for him before the deadline last season and claimed him off waivers for several days in February. Not on the Mets’ 40-man roster, Rortvedt has spent the season in triple-A Syracuse, where he posted a .733 OPS.

“We had had some discussions over the last month or two,” Gomes said, “and then last night, it came to fruition.”

Feduccia, who hit .234 in 60 games with the Rays, was selected by the Dodgers in the 12th round of the 2018 draft. He debuted with the team in 2024. They traded him to the Rays midway through last season.

As the hours ticked closer to the trade deadline, the Dodgers also acquired left-hander Kris Bubic from the Kansas City Royals. In return, the Dodgers sent Carlos Duran to Kansas City. The right-hander had an 3.38 ERA in triple-A Oklahoma City.

Hunter Feduccia bats for the Dodgers during an exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers at the Tokyo Dome on March 16, 2025.

(Kenta Harada / Getty Images)

“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.”

Bubic, who was an All-Star last season, was on the 60-day IL with the Royals. Left elbow soreness initially sidelined him in mid-May, but shoulder soreness set back his ramp-up while he was on a minor-league rehab assignment. He’s since progressed to the bullpen stage of a new throwing progression.

“He’s going to start to build up to ‘pens and some live BPs, and then you know go out and see what that looks like,” Gomes said. “But 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 prior to this year, get him fully healthy.”

Bubic posted a 4.11 ERA in nine starts before landing on the IL. But he’s not far removed from a 2025 season that featured a 90th-percentile chase rate of 32.5%, according to Statcast.

Even with all the activity, the Dodgers managed to keep their active roster intact, holding onto outfielder Alex Call and left-hander Eric Lauer, whose names popped up in trade speculation.

When the Dodgers acquired Skubal, they initially planned to move Lauer to the bullpen. But after right-hander Emmet Sheehan surrendered three homers to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday and exited with two outs in the third inning, the team decided to option him to triple-A.

“For everyone, I think it’s the right thing to do,” Roberts said, noting that Sheehan says he feels great physically. “It’s going to give him a chance to reset, get out of this hot box of performance. We believe in him, we’ve shown that year in and year out. I just had a good conversation with him. … Just got to get him back for who he is.”

They made that move official on Monday, moving Lauer back into the rotation. He’s slated to pitch in the series finale Wednesday against the Cubs.