The Minnesota Twins acquired outfielder James Outman from the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-handed reliever Brock Stewart at last year's trade deadline. The Twins hoped the former NL Rookie of the Year candidate could revive his career with Minnesota. He finished third in 2023 NL Rookie of the Year voting after posting 3.4 bWAR and a .790 OPS with 23 home runs and 70 RBI.
After Outman posted -0.5 bWAR over 53 games in 2024 and -0.2 bWAR across 22 games in 2025, Los Angeles decided it was time to cut ties with the outfielder. Meanwhile, the Twins were in a spot where they knew they wouldn't make the playoffs, so giving Outman some playing time to see if he could return to the 2023 version of himself made sense.
Unfortunately, Outman, 29, didn't revive his career with Minnesota, as the outfielder posted -1.0 bWAR and a .526 OPS across 86 games with the Twins before being designated for assignment in early June. The Detroit Tigers claimed Outman off waivers on June 11 and then designated him for assignment this past Sunday.
The Tigers today selected the contract of LHP Andrew Sears from Triple-A Toledo. Sears, who will wear uniform #64, joins the first major league roster of his professional career.
— Tigers PR (@DetroitTigersPR) August 23, 2026
LHP Enmanuel DeJesus was optioned to Triple-A following last night’s game.
OF James Outman has been…
The Tigers were dealing with injuries to center fielder Parker Meadows and utilityman Javier Báez in early June, so claiming Outman, who can play center field, made sense for the Twins' AL Central rival. However, now that Báez is back and center fielder Max Clark is in the majors with Detroit, the Tigers no longer needed Outman's services.
In 45 games with the Tigers, Outman hit just .183/.240/.366 with five home runs and 14 RBI. Detroit placed Outman on the seven-day concussion injured list on Aug. 13. The Tigers designated the outfielder for assignment as soon as he returned from the IL.
Teams could be interested in ex-Twins outfielder James Outman after Tigers DFA
At this point, Outman has pretty much proved he is no longer the player he was in 2023. However, there's still a decent chance a team in need of outfield help will claim Outman. Even though he is a well-below-average hitter, Outman is a solid defender, having posted +2 Defensive Runs Saved and +2 Outs Above Average across 448 1/3 innings this season. And there's always the hope that Outman could return to the 2023 version of himself, even if it's unlikely.
If Outman ends up being put through waivers and clears them, he will be required to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo, as he has no prior outrights and less than three years of service time.
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