The biggest trade of the 2017 deadline was finalized with minutes to spare.

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired ace right-hander Yu Darvish for minor-league infielders Willie Calhoun and Brendon Davis, and right-hander A.J. Alexy, both teams announced after Monday's trade deadline had passed. 

The Rangers have been slipping out of the postseason race the last few days and weeks, and with Darvish due to become a free agent after the season, the team decided to cash him in as a trade chip. They figure to make a strong effort to re-sign him after the season. Other teams will be involved as well, of course.

Darvish, 30, has pitched to a 4.01 ERA and 3.29 K/BB ratio in 22 starts this season. He's down a bit on the run prevention front, but he's on pace to top 200 innings for the first time since 2013. For his career, he owns an ERA+ of 125 across parts of six big-league seasons. He's owed the balance of an $11 million salary for 2017 and is eligible for free agency this offseason.

This certainly seems like a bold move for a team that's on pace to win an NL-record 115 games. However, the Dodgers do have some durability concerns in the rotation, and slotting in a hurler like Darvish behind a presumably healthy Clayton Kershaw would give them a formidable one-two punch in the playoffs. 

The Darvish blockbuster in addition to their Monday additions of Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani suggest the Dodgers are indeed committed to making the World Series this season. Los Angeles is title-less since 1988 and they've had some very disappointing postseason exits in recent years. Obviously the front office feels it's time to change that.

As for the Rangers, they acquired the No. 4 (Calhoun), No. 17 (Alexy), and No. 27 (Davis) prospects in the Dodgers' system, per MLB.com. The 22-year-old Calhoun is the ideal AL player because he can really hit -- he owns a .298/.357/.574 batting line with 23 homers in 99 Triple-A games this year -- but doesn't have a set long-term position. Alexy and Davis are lower level high-upside lottery plays.

This move does not necessarily mean the Rangers will continue to tear things down and begin a rebuild. They're likely to push to re-sign Darvish in the offseason and put themselves in the best position to contend next year. This was a case of not wanting to risk losing Darvish for nothing as a free agent rather than the start of the rebuild. Texas will look to turn things around in a hurry.