Dave Roberts Discusses James Outman’s Struggles As He Competes for Dodgers Roster Spot
James Outman’s rookie season with the Los Angeles Dodgers couldn’t have gone any better. Two years later, though, he’s fighting to stay in the major leagues.
It’s was hard for manager Dave Roberts to watch Outman spiral last year, but he’s optimistic watching him compete for a roster spot in camp.
“I think that, like a lot of young players, when you start to scuffle, you just can’t stop that spiral,” Roberts said. “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 looks good physically, as always, and he made the swing change, so he’s holding his own right now.”
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On any of the other 29 Major League Baseball teams, Outman would probably have a roster spot locked up. The Dodgers are loaded with talent and don’t have enough room for everyone leaving Outman’s immediately future uncertain.
“Maybe. But that’s not the situation I’m in so there’s no sense wasting any energy on it,” Outman said to the Orange County Register.
“My job is still the same. My job is to play baseball. I can’t really read into anything like that. My job is to be James Outman.”
What does it mean for him to be James Outman again?
It means that he needs to channel the production that earned him a third place finish in National League Rookie of the Year voting two seasons ago.
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Outman appeared in 151 games for the Dodgers and batted .248/.353/.437/.790 with 23 home runs, 70 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 2023.
What happend in 2024 can’t be repeated if Outman does earn a big league role, but he still appears to be a work in progress, hitting .200 (2-for-10) in Cactus League play with six strikeouts.
However, he is taking camp one day at a time and one at-bat at a time because he can’t afford to have a repeat of last year.
“Yeah, it was frustrating,” Outman said. “But I just kind of take it in stride. Use it as fuel. Learn from it. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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Outman needs to go to Driveline and totally rework his swing. There is nothing wrong with his defense and he has good speed on the offensive side, but that “Cobra” swing of his will always lead to strikeouts until he levels it out and drives the ball into the gaps instead of swinging for the fences… It hasn’t worked for Chris Taylor and I doubt it will work for Outman either. I really hope he can do it but even so, I think he will be in Triple A this year unless he is traded…