LOS ANGELES — With 25 games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers opened September with a series of roster tweaks, including multiple role changes, as they look to put their August woes firmly behind them.Instead, the new month greeted them with a 13-8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals — and a slew of questions regarding the current roster construction.As advertised, catcher Will Smith was activated off the 60-day injured list ahead of Tuesday’s loss. With MLB rosters expanding to 28 active players, the Dodgers also had flexibility to boost a sputtering offense that scored the third-fewest runs in the National League in August.But Los Angeles did not call up one of its several budding outfield prospects, despite concerns regarding the lack of production from Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker. Instead, Dodgers’ brass doubled down on the pedigree of their slumping veterans and added to the peripherals of their active roster. That meant infielder Alex Freeland got the call Tuesday when MLB rosters expanded to 28 active players, along with the activation of Dalton Rushing, who is still working through a throwing progression program and will serve as a left-handed bat off the bench until he is cleared to catch.Rushing’s activation was a surprise, as manager Dave Roberts had estimated his reserve catcher wouldn’t be back with the major-league team until mid-September. Rushing was shut down from throwing for multiple weeks after an MRI in early August revealed a right UCL sprain, but was able to take at-bats in the interim, both live and off a Trajekt machine. That allowed to the Dodgers — who were looking to bring up a left-handed bat — to feel confident about bringing him back, even without a rehab assignment.Justin Wrobleski was also activated off the IL and will slot to the bullpen. To make room on the active roster, outfielder Alek Thomas was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City and catcher Ben Rortvedt was designated for assignment.“Just gives us some options,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “It’s balancing offensive production and defensive value, and this allows for opportunities for our right-handed bats … as we wait for Andy (Pages) to come back.”Justin Wrobleski has been activated off the IL. (Norm Hall / Getty Images)Friedman still believes Pages, who has been out since Aug. 22 with a fractured hand, has enough time to return for the playoffs. But they will need stability in center field and in right-handed production in his absence. Smith’s return should help with the latter. Tommy Edman will now largely start in center field, with Freeland likely to resume the platoon he had at second base with Miguel Rojas earlier in the season.They certainly aren’t the splashiest moves, but the Dodgers believe what they’ve added on the margins will give them more flexibility to play match-ups late in games, while giving them ample depth around the diamond. As the final month of the regular season begins, the Dodgers are betting on their core group to turn their performances around.”If you’re looking at sort of positional value, versatility, right versus left, some power potential, I think that we’ve got a lot of the bases covered,” Robert’s said. “Now it’s the carriers, the guys that essentially play everyday, need to just perform.”Here’s what Tuesday’s roster moves mean for the Dodgers.What will Rushing’s role be, and will he catch again this season?Slotting him as a pinch-hitter for now, the Dodgers know they are asking Rushing to do something new. But their need for slugging, especially off the bench, took priority — even if Rushing isn’t able to catch.“Dalton has made a lot of progress in his rehab with his throwing, such that we’re feeling more and more confident about him getting back behind the plate,” Friedman said. “He’s been taking trajectory bats and lives, and we felt like while his catching was behind his offense, right now the offense is what we could use.”Roberts backed that up, saying Rushing’s “simple” swing should make him a weapon off the bench.“I think he’ll be prepared,” Roberts said. “It is my job to get him repetitions to see how it looks and get him used to coming off the bench.After taking live at-bats off Edwin Díaz at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday afternoon, Rushing acknowledged his lack of experience as a bench bat, but said he’s eager to get back on the field regardless of role.“From a hitting side, I think they felt comfortable with how much I’ve been hitting off Trajekt and how much I’ve just really just been hitting over the last three weeks,” Rushing said. “The swing never really took a break.”Rushing started ramping up catch play last week. He’s throwing out to 100 feet in the outfield and thinks he’ll start catching bullpens in the next few days, and said he believes he’ll be ready to catch by the postseason.“I think it’s up to me to be as transparent as possible with them about how it’s feeling, and that will make the next step, that’ll create the next step of how we go about this,” Rushing said. “Do we speed up the process? Do we slow it down? I’m just thankful that I have an opportunity to help this team again.”Will Smith will catch every other game at least through the week as he acclimates back to big-league action. Hunter Feduccia will remain the backup catcher for the immediate future.With slumping outfielders, why was Freeland recalled? Tucker entered Monday hitting .173 with a .560 OPS over his last 28 games. Hernández came in hitting .212 with a .562 OPS. They have combined to hit three home runs in the last four weeks. The corner outfield production has not been pretty, so much so that Roberts hinted at a potential platoon of Hernández after Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Detroit Tigers depending on Tuesday’s call-ups.That Freeland ended up getting the nod over James Tibbs III likely had at least something to do with Rushing’s availability. Tibbs would have required a 40-man roster spot, and Friedman is very particular regarding his roster construction. Since Rushing did not need a rehab assignment, Los Angeles turned to Freeland, who is already on the 40-man roster, so the club did not have to cut a player.Alex Freeland’s recall enabled the Dodgers to not have to cut a player. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)The onus is now firmly on Tucker and Hernández to establish some sort of consistency before October. Roberts ruled out Hernández platooning with Edman in left field (which would have presumably slotted Kiké Hernández to center field). The manager intends to keep riding his veteran outfielders until he feels he can no longer do so.“I do kind of tend to give guys more leash given what they’ve done and looking at how they can handle a potential big moment in the postseason,” Roberts said. “That’s important.”If Wrobleski is in the bullpen, how can the Dodgers still use a six-man rotation? The Dodgers plan to use Wrobleski as a multi-inning reliever in September, preparing him for what appears to be his likeliest postseason role. But with Ohtani’s status as a pitcher unclear and Roki Sasaki on the 15-day IL with a blister, the Dodgers are down to five starters. Still, that won’t be Wrobleski, as Roberts said the Dodgers would likely call up a spot starter if needed in the midst of next nine games without a day off.There is no update as to when Ohtani could resume throwing after he was scratched from a possible start last Sunday, but Friedman says there has been no talk of shutting Ohtani down from pitching despite a .202/.288/.416 line dating back to the weekend when he first resumed bullpen sessions.“When he’s throwing 100 pitches and all that he has to do in the weight room and the bullpen work, that’s even more taxing than what he’s doing right now, and he’s maintained that well,” Friedman said. So I don’t think that what he’s doing right now is bleeding into the offensive side.“It’s tricky to try to follow a progression by day when he’s DH’ing by night, and so that has been a little bit challenging,” he admitted. “I think he felt a certain pressure to get built up to X number of pitches by Y date instead of let’s just attack each day in the most thoughtful way we can.”Despite multiple requests, Ohtani has not spoken to the media since Aug. 17. Friedman believes Ohtani will pitch again during the regular season, but it remains unclear as to when that progression will resume.“It’s the competitor in him. He wants to be out there, you know, starting every turn and going deep into games and helping us in the box, which is great,” Friedman said. “But we have to make sure we do it in the most thoughtful way.”“We will get him in a game at some point. When? I don’t know exactly yet.”