{"id":723435,"date":"2026-06-11T20:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T20:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/723435\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T20:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T20:54:13","slug":"tigers-claim-james-outman-off-waivers-from-twins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/723435\/","title":{"rendered":"Tigers Claim James Outman Off Waivers From Twins"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Tigers announced Thursday that they\u2019ve claimed outfielder James Outman<\/a> off waivers from the Twins. Detroit\u2019s 40-man roster was full, but they created space by shifting infielder\/outfielder Javier B\u00e1ez<\/a> from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. The Tigers will need to create an active roster space for Outman before tomorrow\u2019s game, given that he\u2019s out of minor league options.<\/p>\n

Outman, 29, gives the Tigers another option in center field with both B\u00e1ez and Parker Meadows<\/a> on the injured list. That pair has been shelved since April. Detroit has been using Matt Vierling<\/a> and Wenceel P\u00e9rez<\/a> in center field for the past six weeks, though both are better suited for infield or corner outfield work. Outman, with above-average sprint speed and arm strength, gives manager A.J. Hinch a more credible defensive option.<\/p>\n

While Outman may be a fine defender, however, his bat has typically undercut any value he adds with his glove or his legs. He impressed as a rookie with the Dodgers in 2023, hitting .248\/.353\/.437 despite a sky-high 32% strikeout rate. His contact problems have only increased since, which has relegated Outman to a backup role for the most part.<\/p>\n

Dating back to 2024, Outman has taken 374 big league plate appearances but turned in a woeful .144\/.235\/.284 slash. He\u2019s walked at a respectable 8.8% clip, but his 39.3% strikeout rate is far and away the worst among the 444 players who\u2019ve totaled 300 or more plate appearances in that time. Jose Siri<\/a> is second-worst, sitting two percentage points lower. No other hitter is within four percentage points of Outman\u2019s strikeout rate.<\/p>\n

The Twins acquired Outman from the Dodgers at last year\u2019s deadline in a trade sending talented but oft-injured reliever Brock Stewart<\/a> to Los Angeles. It was a head-scratching move even at the time. Minnesota\u2019s roster was deep with lefty-swinging outfield options (Trevor Larnach<\/a>, Matt Wallner<\/a>, Kody Clemens<\/a>, Alan Roden<\/a>), and the Twins\u2019 top two prospects \u2014 Walker Jenkins<\/a> and Emmanuel Rodriguez<\/a> \u2014 are both lefty-swinging outfielders who\u2019d perhaps already have debuted this season were it not for injuries. Add in that Outman was going to be out of options in 2026, and the fit was all the more curious.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the Twins felt they could cut down on Outman\u2019s swing-and-miss troubles, but the opposite has played out. This year\u2019s 41.4% strikeout rate is the highest in baseball for any of the 428 players with even 40 plate appearances on the season. Outman has four steals but has also been caught twice. His defense in the outfield has been solid, but Minnesota still designated him for assignment a few days ago.<\/p>\n

If nothing else, Outman gives the Tigers a late-game option when they need a pinch-runner or a defensive upgrade in the outfield. Given his penchant for strikeouts and the overall anemic offensive output since what now looks like an outlier rookie showing back in \u201923, it\u2019ll be hard for him to stick on the roster for the rest of the season, barring a massive turnaround.<\/p>\n

The Tigers are hopeful that Meadows \u2014 who suffered a concussion and a broken forearm in an April outfield collision with teammate Riley Greene<\/a> \u2014 will return this summer. B\u00e1ez\u2019s return appears less certain. Hinch said late last month that the veteran\u2019s sprained ankle hasn\u2019t healed as hoped, and Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reported earlier this month<\/a> that B\u00e1ez was being shut down entirely due to ongoing discomfort. The Tigers will presumably remain on the lookout for outfield help. If they continue their recent hot streak \u2014 today\u2019s win gives them seven victories in their past nine games, at a time when Tarik Skubal<\/a> and Casey Mize<\/a> are set to return<\/a> \u2014 then bringing in some additional center field help could be a point of focus at the trade deadline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Tigers announced Thursday that they\u2019ve claimed outfielder James Outman off waivers from the Twins. Detroit\u2019s 40-man roster…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":723436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2290],"tags":[5,4571,1329],"class_list":["post-723435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-baseball","tag-baseball","tag-james-outman","tag-javier-baez"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116733467954278115","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=723435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/723435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/723436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=723435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=723435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=723435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}