March 12th, 2023 at 9:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There is a place where no one wants to be. It is ‘Between a rock and a hard place.’
Dodgers outfielder James Outman is between a rock and a hard place, and most certainly by no fault of his own. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Allow me to digress.
In late July of 2022, Outman receive the call that every Minor Leaguer (and every kid, for that matter) dreams of – he was called up to the Dodgers from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Zach McKinstry on the active roster.
In his very first Major League at-bat, Outman did what every Minor Leaguer (and every kid, for that matter) dreams of – he hit a home run. In fact, in his 13 at-bats over the final four days of the 2022 regular season, the Redwood City, CA native and Dodgers seventh-round draft pick in 2018 out of Cal State Sacramento went 6-for-13, for an alien-like .462 / .563 / .846 / 1.409 slash line that included the one home run, two doubles, six runs scored, and six RBI. How’s that for an MLB debut?
Fast-forward to Spring Training 2023.
As you would expect, because of that aforementioned alien-like end to the 2022 regular season, Outman was included on the Dodgers 40-man roster when the Dodgers 2023 Spring Training camp began. As of this writing, he has appeared in nine of the Dodgers 12 Spring Training games. In his (thus far) 18 Spring Training at-bats, Outman is 7-for-18, with two home runs, one triple, four runs scored, and six RBI. He is currently leading the team with his .400 batting average among players with at least 20 official at-bats and is slashing an alien-like .400 / .480 / .800 / 1.280.
Here’s where that ‘Between a rock and a hard place’ thing comes into play.
Because of his call-up in 2022, Outman now has two option years remaining, although his rookie status is still intact. Dodgers popular 31-yeaar-old utility outfielder Trayce Thompson has no options remaining. In other words, if Thompson is not on the Dodgers Opening Day 26-man roster, he must be released by the team as a free agent.
It gets rockier.
In the six Spring Training games in which Thompson has appeared, he is a dismal 1-for-13 (.077). The good news is that his one hit was a two-RBI double, so there’s that.
It gets even rockier.
Thompson is currently playing for Team Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic, which is currently underway in nearby Phoenix. In Saturday’s game between Great Britain and (wait for it…) Team USA, Thompson went 2-for-4, with a double, a home run, and one RBI.
The point to all of this is that you can absolutely positively be sure that Dodgers President Stan Kasten, Dodgers President of Baseball Operation Andrew Friedman, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, every Dodgers player not participating in the WBC, and (probably) every Dodgers fan on the planet are very closely monitoring Thompson’s every WBC at-bat; this because he is out of options with the Dodgers. As such, Thompson will most likely be on the Dodgers Opening Day 26-man roster, while James Outman is on his way to Triple-A Oklahoma City.
…at least to begin the season.
‘Between a rock and a hard place’ if ever there were one.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
Really sucks. It will be very disappointing if Outman is not on the opening day roster if he maintains his current production. If he is not on the OD roster, I believe the Dodgers will keep him in AAA until June or long enough that he will not become a Super-2.
A few details could be clearer… James Outman was not called up when rosters expanded. Rather he was called up a few days before the trade deadline (end of July as you noted – perhaps to see if the Dodgers could increase his value for a possible deadline trade). Certainly his value climbed to such a level after that cup of coffee that the Dodgers decided to keep him. And…then they traded for …Joey Gallo who took Outman’s roster spot. Then, even though Outman continued to tear up AAA, he was not invited for a second trip to LA when the rosters expanded.
September roster expansion isn’t what it used to be. Instead of the full 40 man roster being eligible for September the limit is now 28 (14 pitchers/14 batters). Outman would have been up in September in the old days.
Clarified.
Who would the dodgers keep instead of Outman?
Peralta will play LF
Betts is the right fielder.
CF Candidates?
Outman
Thompson
CT3
Heyward
Still only 6 outfielders.
2 Catchers Smith and Barnes
Infielders
Freeman Vargas Rojas Muncy
CT3 backup 2b and SS.
Only 12 guys including Outman.
DH JD Martinez.
13 players
13 pitchers.
Outman needs to play (almost) every day, and if Thompson is not given the opportunity to play (almost) every day, I believe that he will bail as a free agent and will quickly be scooped up by a team where he can.
Just my $.02.
So long, au revoir, auf wiedersehen, goodbye.
I really think the Dodgers will keep Trayce and send Outman to AAA to start the season. I don’t think Heyward is going to be around long. Would be great to work out a trade for Trayce. I would still trade KT3 also.