Dodgers send out lineup for Game 2 at Wrigley Field featuring two new catchers

The Dodgers posted their starting lineup for Game 2 of their series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 4, and the card arrived with a notable wrinkle: two newly added catchers are on the roster for Tuesday's contest, per Yahoo Sports.

What happened

Per SportsNet LA, the Dodgers released their lineup for the Tuesday night game at Wrigley Field, with a 5:05 p.m. start time. The game is available on SportsNet LA and TBS, with radio coverage on AM 570 in English and KTNQ 1020 AM in Spanish. The roster heading into the game reportedly includes two catchers described by Yahoo Sports as "new old friend" additions — a phrase that carries the particular warmth of a reunion and the particular paperwork of a transaction, though the specific details of how those catchers arrived on the roster were not provided in the report.

Tarik Skubal is the probable starting pitcher for Los Angeles, with Javier Assad lined up for Chicago.

Why it matters

The catcher position is one of the more operationally sensitive spots on a roster. A 26-man active roster — the standard through August 31 under general league rules — typically carries two catchers, and any change there tends to reflect either an injury situation, a depth calculation, or both. The report does not specify what prompted the additions, and the Posterior Wire is not going to speculate about that. What the lineup release does make clear is that the Dodgers arrived in Chicago with a freshly configured battery situation and a new arm on the mound.

The "new old friend" framing from Yahoo Sports suggests these are players with prior organizational ties to Los Angeles — the kind of reunion the sport manufactures with quiet regularity and that the transaction wire reports with the same energy as a grocery list. Whether these additions represent a short-term patch or something more durable is not addressed in the report.

Is Tarik Skubal starting Tuesday?

Per Yahoo Sports, yes — Skubal is the probable starter for the Dodgers in Tuesday's game at Wrigley Field against Assad. Yahoo Sports describes him as "a new guy on the mound" for this outing, which adds a layer of freshness to a lineup that is already carrying two new faces behind the plate. The report does not include any pitching line or season statistics for Skubal in this context.

Where the club stands

The Dodgers enter Tuesday at 100-62 (.617), sitting first in the NL West and riding a three-game winning streak. That record is worth a moment of appreciation: 100 wins before the calendar reaches the midpoint of August is the kind of number that makes the rest of the league's front offices reach for antacids. The division lead is intact, and the club is carrying that winning streak into a road series at one of the sport's more atmospheric venues.

After Tuesday's game at Wrigley, the Dodgers return Wednesday, August 5 for the series finale, with Eric Lauer reportedly probable against Shota Imanaga. The club then travels to Chase Field for a Friday, August 7 game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where Roki Sasaki is the probable starter against Merrill Kelly.

The schedule asks Los Angeles to close out a road series in Chicago before heading to Arizona — two different environments, two different pitching matchups, and a roster that is apparently still being configured as the games arrive. That is not unusual for a team deep into a long season; rosters at this stage of the year have a way of shifting quietly between series, and a club at 100-62 with a division lead has the luxury of absorbing those adjustments without existential urgency.

It is also worth noting the broader texture of the series itself. Wrigley Field in August, a team trying to extend a winning streak, a new pitcher on the mound, and two catchers whose paperwork is fresher than the ivy on the outfield wall — this is the kind of Tuesday night that the baseball calendar produces with reliable charm.

What we don't know yet

The report does not identify the two catchers by name, does not specify the transactions that brought them to the roster, and does not explain what prompted the additions. Whether the previous catcher situation involved an injury, a roster move, or a straightforward depth decision is not addressed in the available material.

It is also worth noting that Yahoo Sports presents this as a lineup release and a game chat entry — not a formal club transaction announcement. The catcher additions are reported as context for the lineup, not as a separately detailed roster move with full particulars attached. The Posterior Wire will not fill that gap with inference.

What to watch

The most immediate thread to follow is the identity and status of the two catchers, which the report leaves unnamed. Once those details surface through a club announcement or a follow-up report, the operational picture will come into focus — whether this is a short-term arrangement or something the Dodgers intend to carry forward through the stretch run.

Beyond the roster mechanics, Wednesday's series finale at Wrigley pairs Eric Lauer against Shota Imanaga before the club shifts to a Friday date in Arizona with Roki Sasaki on the probable list. A team at 100-62 (.617) with a division lead and a winning streak has the structural comfort to absorb roster adjustments without alarm — but the catcher situation is worth tracking as the August schedule continues to stack up and the active roster limit of 26 players eventually gives way to the expanded 28-man window that opens September 1 under general league rules. How the Dodgers configure their depth behind the plate between now and then is a question the next few days of reporting should begin to answer.