The Los Angeles Dodgers optioned James Outman to Triple-A on May 17 following his massive struggles at the MLB level.
Outman was slashing just .147/.250/.266 with three home runs and 10 runs batted in. He had 40 strikeouts and an OPS of just .516. He clearly needed some time in Triple-A.
Since being demoted, Outman has started to look more like his old self. In 27 games, the former seventh-round pick is slashing .291/.419/.563 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs. He also has 19 walks, five stolen bases, and an OPS of .982.
Outman is continuing to get more confidence while with Oklahoma City.
He didn’t earn a call-up when Mookie Betts went on the injured list, but he’ll almost certainly get called back up at some point this season, especially in the event of another injury.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said back in May when Outman was demoted: “There’s something to getting out of this performance-based environment and just going out there and playing baseball.
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Once we can get him back on track, then we can get him back here.”
Outman definitely appears to be back on track, but he’ll now wait his turn to earn a spot back on the major league roster.
For now, though, he just needs to continue slugging.
