James Outman entered Spring Training looking to turn the page on a disappointing 2024 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Outman struggled out of the gate and lost his role as the team’s starting center fielder before ultimately spending most of the year with Triple-A Oklahoma City. Outman hit just .147 with four homers and 11 RBI in 53 games at the big league level.
The 27-year-old focused on adding muscle during offseason workouts and also made some adjustments to his swing in effort to get back on track.
“It’s different,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Outman’s mechanics. “I think early on he’s laying the bat down, I think his posture is better, which should be able to kind of cover the top half of the zone a little bit better, which has been a place that he’s been kind of exploited.
“It’s good to see him square some balls up the last couple days. Hopefully that kind of builds confidence for him, but it’s different, which I think last year he certainly needed to make the make an adjustment, and he did.”
Outman impressed as a rookie in 2023 but wasn’t able to replicate that success last year. Roberts attributed the struggles to mechanical issues with his swing and self-induced pressure.
“I think that, like a lot of young players, when you start to scuffle, you just can’t stop that spiral,” Roberts began.
“And I just think for me, there’s some mechanical part of it, but I think that there is a little feeling of the pressure of trying to perform bled into last year. And I just think that we couldn’t slow it down.
“I think that this year he’s in a healthy competition. I think that’s good. I think he’s he looks good physically, as always, and he made the swing change, so he’s holding his own right now.”
James Outman’s role with Dodgers in 2025
Due to the Dodgers’ roster crunch, Outman may open the 2025 season with the Oklahoma City Comets. However, he could potentially earn a spot on the Opening Day roster if an injury occurs or Hyeseong Kim is optioned to begin the year.
Through four Cactus League games, Outman has gone 2-for-10 with a double, walk and stolen base.
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