Three at-bats.

Over the final weekend of the regular season, that is likely all Dalton Rushing will get to make his closing case for a Dodgers postseason roster spot.

“It is going to be a small sample,” manager Dave Roberts acknowledged. “Just conduct at-bats and see what you got.”

This, of course, is not how Rushing envisioned the end of his second big-league season playing out –– especially after he was leapfrogged by Ben Rortvedt last October as the club’s backup catcher and, one at-bat in the National League Division Series aside, relegated to watching the team’s postseason run entirely from the dugout.

For a time this year, the former top prospect seemed on track to be a playoff roster lock. He showed growth in his backup role behind Will Smith this season, batting .249 with 12 home runs and 36 RBIs in just 78 games played. He took over starting catching duties for all of June and July while Smith was out with a long-term neck injury.

But then, days before the trade deadline, he suffered an elbow injury that scuttled his ability to be behind the plate.

And while, initially, the team still saw him as a left-handed hitting option for their playoff bench, he has seemingly been surpassed for that job by September rookie call-up Josue De Paula –– who turned in a tantalizing 11-game audition over the last several weeks after Rushing suffered an elbow setback that sidelined him on the injured list again.

On Friday, however, Rushing is scheduled to be activated by the Dodgers. De Paula was optioned to the minor leagues earlier this week to clear a pathway for Rushing to at least get a few pinch-hit at-bats during the club’s final regular-season series in San Francisco against the Giants.

“What he’s done for us this season certainly deserves some consideration,” Roberts said of Rushing’s postseason chances. “That’s kind of giving him the respect and thoughtfulness of what he’s done for us.”

At the same time, though, Roberts laid out Rushing’s playoff chances bluntly.

“It’s just tough to just be hurt, be back, then be hurt again, and then take three pinch-hit at-bats potentially, and then say, ‘Hey, you’re on the roster,’” Roberts said.

Indeed, at this point, it would be a surprise if Rushing got the nod over De Paula for a postseason roster spot.

While both represent potentially potent left-handed hitting options, De Paula possesses better speed (he stole 31 bases in double-A this year, then another during his initial MLB stint) and at least the capability of playing the outfield if needed (though, his lowly-graded defense will make that a last-case scenario).

“There’s some nuanced conversation that needs to happen,” Roberts said, “[about] what fits best for a potential first-round matchup.”

For now, that answer appears likely to be De Paula.

While Rushing will be back on the active roster this week, he has likely run out of time to work his way back into the Dodgers’ initial postseason plans.

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