The Dodgers recently wrapped up their three game series against the Chicago Cubs, where they dropped two games out of the three game set. When the two teams met at Wrigley Field in 2023, center fielder James Outman was the star of the series, connecting for four home runs and nine RBIs in the Dodgers’ series win.
James Outman began the 2023 season on a torrid stretch from March to April, slashing .296/.366/.600 with seven home runs and 20 RBI, en route to winning NL Rookie of the Month for April. Outman’s start to the 2024 season has been anything and everything but how he produced to open up the previous season.
Through 38 plate appearances in 2024, Outman has struggled mightily, slashing a horrid .125/.263/.156 with just three RBIs and one extra-base hit, striking out 13 times compared to five walks. With the Dodgers having faced a left-handed starter in back-to-back games, Kiké Hernández has gotten the start over Outman, despite manager Dave Roberts previously denying any ideas that Hernández and Outman would platoon in center field.
Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes about Outman’s early season struggles, and how manager Dave Roberts wants Outman to work through the slump he’s been mired in.
“I just think James has to get untracked offensively. So for me, talking to the hitting guys, allowing him to have a couple days’ work and then he’ll be in there all three days against Minnesota. But my plan is definitely not to platoon him. Right now, I do want him to get that swing kind of a little more dialed in.”
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The city of Chicago is a special place for Jason Heyward, who spent seven seasons with the Cubs while being an integral piece of their 2016 World Series winning team.
Heyward and his fellow teammates had the chance to go visit the Jason Heyward Baseball Academy, where they surprised local kids who attended, reports Juan Toribio of MLB.com.
“The kids that are going to be there to get that surprise of seeing a Major League Baseball player, I think is really cool,” Heyward said before the event.
As the Dodgers head north to take on the Twins in Minnesota, newly acquired right-handed reliever Connor Brogdon will be on the team’s roster prior to the start of the first game of the series, reports Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.
The 29-year-old Brogdon has appeared in 142 games across parts of five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, accumulating a 3.88 ERA and a 109 ERA+.
