Dave Roberts Gets Honest About James Outman’s Struggles in Dodgers Camp

The Los Angeles Dodgers are currently having a productive spring.

Although the records have no implications on the regular season, L.A. has won its last eight spring matchups going into Saturday’s contest with the Chicago White Sox.

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As nice as the 2025 spring training campaign has been, a few weaknesses have been exposed for Los Angeles.

A key signing in the offseason, four-time Korea Baseball Organization standout Hyeseong Kim, has struggled with the velocity shift from overseas to stateside baseball. This is raising many questions about not just where Kim will begin the season, but who else will be rostered if Kim starts his MLB career in the minors.

Another name that the Dodgers have yet to make a decision on is outfielder James Outman.

Outman showed a lot of promise for the Dodgers in the 2023 season as an up-and-coming center fielder. Finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting, Outman finished the campaign with a .248 batting average, a 3.3 WAR, 23 home runs, and 70 RBIs.

Then, the 2024 season came.

Last season was bleak for the 27-year-old as he made a drastic drop to a batting average of .147 and only notching 20 hits in 53 games. He was designated for assignment in mid-May of 2024 and was briefly brought back up in July before being recalled in late September ahead of the postseason.

This spring has unfortunately been more of the same for Outman and manager Dave Roberts noted his new swing.

“Early on, he looked really comfortable with kind of a little revamped swing,” Roberts said. “But right now, he’s swinging and missing a lot. I don’t know if he’s pressing. He just doesn’t look as comfortable.”

The struggles of both Outman and Kim will likely cause the Dodgers to turn to other players in order to find more depth in the outfield and second base.

Dodgers fans should hope that Outman is able to turn a new leaf and get back to where he was at in 2023 ahead of the new season.

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Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

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