James Matthew Outman (born May 14, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022 for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Early life

Outman grew up in

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area of Northern California, approximately south of San Francisco and northwest of San Jose, California, San Jose. The city's population was 84,292 accor ...

and attended Junípero Serra High School. In high school, he hit .305 with a .508 slugging percentage and .962 fielding percentage and also played

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the football team. Outman was a fan of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

growing up.

College career

Outman attended

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Sacramento State Hornets The Sacramento State Hornets (also Sac State Hornets) is the team that represents California State University, Sacramento in intercollegiate athletics. The school fields 21 teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, ...

. He hit .249 in 147 games over three seasons with 23 homers and 99 RBI. He also played for the

Humboldt Crabs The Humboldt Crabs are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Arcata, California. Playing in every season since they were founded in 1945 by Lou Bonomini, later joined by Ned Barsuglia, the Crabs are the oldest continually-operated summer c ...

in 2016 and the

Bethesda Big Train The Bethesda Big Train is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bethesda, Maryland. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League (CRSCBL), and derives its name from the nickname of National Baseball Hall of Fame and ...

of the

Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League The Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League (CRSCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league located in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan areas. The CRSCBL is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball ...

in 2017, where he was the Team MVP and League Offensive Player of the Year.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

2018–2021

The

selected Outman in the seventh round of the

2018 MLB Draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. He played with the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitch ...

in 2018 and the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Hist ...

in 2019. After missing the 2020 season as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Outman began 2021 with the Loons, where he hit .250 with nine home runs and 30 RBI. He was promoted to the Double-A

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

in July and was named

Double-A Central The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

hitter of the week two weeks later when he had seven extra base hits, including three home runs in six games against the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

. He wound up hitting .289 with nine homers and 24 RBI in 39 games for Tulsa. James Outman with the Great Lakes Loons

The Dodgers assigned him to the

Glendale Desert Dogs The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White S ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

after the season, where he was selected to the Fall Stars Game for the best prospects in the league. Outman was added to the Dodgers' 40-man roster in November 2021. He began the 2022 season with Tulsa before being promoted to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

at the end of June. Between the two levels in 2022, he appeared in 125 games, hitting .294 with 31 homers and 106 RBIs.

2022

Outman was called up to the Major Leagues for the first time on July 30. He made his debut as the starting right fielder the following day against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

and hit a home run in his first MLB at-bat off of

Germán Márquez Germán Andres Márquez (born February 22, 1995) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2016. Márquez won a Silver Slugger Award in 2018 and was an All-Star ...

. He had three hits in his debut with the homer, a double and three RBI. After his second career game the following night, he became the first Dodgers player to reach base seven or more times in his first two career games since

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and Manager (baseball), manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, t ...

in 1912. Outman appeared in four games in the majors in 2022, with six hits in 13 at-bats, including two doubles, the one home run and 13 RBI.

2023

Outman made the Dodgers

opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster for the first time in 2023, as the team's starting center fielder against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. He hit a two-run homer off

Cole Sulser Cole Young Sulser (born March 12, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and New Yo ...

to give the Dodgers their first homer of the season. On April 20 against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, Outman hit two home runs including the go-ahead

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

in the ninth. That was Outman's first multi-homer game, a feat that he repeated two days later when he hit another pair of home runs against the Cubs. Outman was selected as the National League Rookie of the Month for April. He played in 151 games, batting .248 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI.

2024

Outman again began the season as the Dodgers' center fielder. However, he struggled at the plate in the first couple of months, hitting just .147 with three home runs, and was optioned back to the minors on May 17. He spent most of the rest of the season in the minors, except for July, when he was recalled. He hit .147 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 53 games in the majors and .279 with 17 home runs and 46 RBI in 69 games in the minors.

2025

Outman was on the roster for the Tokyo Series to open the season but did not appear in either of the two games and was optioned back to the

Oklahoma City Comets The Oklahoma City Comets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their ho ...

to start the minor league season. In 70 games for Oklahoma City, Outman batted .289 with 20 homers and 74 RBI. He also played in 22 games for the Dodgers, but hit only .103 with two home runs and four RBI.

Minnesota Twins

On July 31, 2025, the Dodgers traded Outman to the

in exchange for pitcher Brock Stewart.

References

External links

Sacramento State Hornets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Outman, James 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Redwood City, California Major League Baseball outfielders Los Angeles Dodgers players Sacramento State Hornets baseball players Bethesda Big Train players Ogden Raptors players Great Lakes Loons players Tulsa Drillers players Glendale Desert Dogs players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Oklahoma City Baseball Club players Oklahoma City Comets players Humboldt Crabs players