James Outman has gone from intriguing former Dodgers prospect to a player Tigers fans are openly turning on, and the numbers explain why.
Detroit gave Outman another shot after Minnesota moved on from him, but the results have been brutal. Through 2025 and 2026, he posted a .558 OPS in 37 games and then a .479 OPS in 49 games before the Twins finally cut bait.
The Tigers took the chance anyway, hoping a change of scenery might unlock something. Instead, they’ve gotten the same empty production, only now it’s happening on a team stuck in a league-worst slide.
Outman’s path makes the disappointment even sharper. He burst out of the gate with the Dodgers, going 6-for-13 with a home run in his first four games.
He later won the starting center field job in 2023 and finished with a .790 OPS, while also placing third in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Since then, though, the bat has fallen off a cliff.
The biggest issue has always been the strikeouts. Even in that breakout 2023 season, Outman struck out 32% of the time, and that problem has only grown worse as his contact rates have kept sinking. The Dodgers eventually moved him to Minnesota straight up for Brock Stewart, and after that stop went nowhere, Detroit was willing to take one more look.
The Tigers weren’t bringing him in to be a middle-of-the-order bat. They viewed him as a plus defender who could run, cover ground, and help late in games. But injuries to Javier Baez and Parker Meadows pushed him into a larger role than intended, and that’s where the problems have become impossible to ignore.
One Tigers fan summed up the frustration on July 28, 2026, writing: “He’s ran into a couple but James Outman might be the worst hitter we’ve ever seen wear the D”
Outman’s struggle to hold a job in Los Angeles said plenty on its own. The Dodgers are the kind of organization that usually squeezes value out of talent, and their current center fielder, Andy Pages, is proof of that.
Pages, an NL All-Star this past season, strikes out 23% of the time. Outman is nearly twice that.
Detroit did keep Outman through its latest roster purge, even though that decision drew questions. The club DFA’d fan favorite catcher Jake Rogers instead, despite Rogers hitting below the Mendoza line but still providing value behind the plate. With Baez back from the injured list on Tuesday, Outman’s path to playing time got even thinner.
And with the Tigers expected to sell at the trade deadline, more roster turnover is likely coming. Detroit is reportedly looking for MLB-ready talent in deals involving Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. That leaves fewer and fewer spots to justify carrying a player who, at least for now, has done nothing to force the issue.
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