How do Dodgers line up after busy Deadline?

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LOS ANGELES -- Over the last couple of weeks, there was a lot of speculation and anticipation on what the Dodgers would or wouldn’t do before Tuesday's Trade Deadline.

Now that the Deadline is in the rearview mirror, Los Angeles knows exactly who it will have on the 40-man roster moving forward. The moves to acquire Tommy Edman, Michael Kopech, Amed Rosario, Kevin Kiermaier and Jack Flaherty all served their purposes, according to the Dodgers.

Here are three thoughts on the moves and where things stand moving forward:

Is there enough top-end starting pitching now?

The Dodgers didn’t hide it. They repeatedly said they needed to add an “impact-type” starter before the Deadline. Los Angeles was able to land Flaherty from the Tigers right at the buzzer.

Flaherty has never been a staff ace in his career, but the right-hander is having a career season and was unquestionably the best starter moved at the Deadline with Garrett Crochet, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell staying with their respective teams.

Adding Flaherty will be a huge boost. Pairing him with Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone will give the Dodgers some much-needed breathing room in the rotation. But will it be enough for a starting rotation that has been underwhelming for about a month now?

Clayton Kershaw was solid in his first start back from left shoulder surgery, but he suffered a big step backwards in his second outing against the Padres. Walker Buehler hasn’t looked right all season and was hit around in his second rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Bobby Miller also hasn’t been good. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is throwing a bullpen, but given the long-term investment on the Japanese right-hander, even the slightest setback can end his season.

On the flip side, rookies River Ryan and Justin Wrobleski have given the team a breath of fresh air. Ryan will make his third start against the A’s on Sunday and is slowly making a case for a permanent spot in the rotation even when other players get healthy. Optioning Wrobleski was a difficult decision for Los Angeles, but the left-hander should be back at some point this season.

With Flaherty and some other pitchers getting back from injuries, the Dodgers will have a lot of options in the starting rotation. There are some questions, but the next two months will be used to find those answers.

Depth pieces should fit in perfectly

In a perfect world, the Dodgers would’ve traded for a star to insert into the lineup and run the baseball version of the Monstars again. But in a market where no top position players moved, the club did the next best thing: Los Angeles upgraded just about every position on the bench.

Edman is a player the Dodgers have liked for years. His versatility is exactly what president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman loves. Though Edman hasn’t played at all this season after undergoing right wrist surgery and suffering an ankle injury during his rehab, the utilityman will be back in a couple weeks and he’s under team control next season.

When he makes his return, Edman will play center field and can also play just about everywhere else on the diamond.

As for Rosario and Kiermaier, both give the Dodgers much better platoon options and pinch-hitting options off the bench. James Outman struggled mightily in both stints at the big league level and Kiermaier will replace him on the roster. Kiké Hernández, Nick Ahmed and Cavan Biggio have also struggled to hit consistently and having Rosario gives them some more protection.

Not every move at the Deadline has to be flashy. Those didn’t really exist this year. But the Dodgers graded out well with their other moves.

What else could they have done?

As you would expect, there are a lot of discussions that happen heading into the Trade Deadline. After all, it’s the last time a team can significantly improve its roster.

The Dodgers, like many teams, checked in on Crochet and Skubal. On the position player side, the club showed interest in Tommy Pham, who went to the Cardinals in the same three-way trade that sent Edman and Kopech to Los Angeles. Randy Arozarena was also an option before he got traded to Seattle. The reports of the Dodgers’ interest in Isaac Paredes were exaggerated, according to a source.

Left-hander Tanner Scott was another bullpen arm the Dodgers coveted and made a significant offer to land the closer from the Marlins. Miami, however, decided in the end to take San Diego’s package. The Marlins had some familiarity with the Padres’ system after scouting it extensively in the Luis Arraez trade earlier this season.