James Outman is digging himself into a hole as Andy Pages struggles for Dodgers

The current Dodgers roster is an inhospitable place for young players who are just trying to establish a foothold in the game, but Andy Pages has been making that a little too evident as of late. He didn't look great in spring training, but he eked onto the Opening Day roster when the Dodgers sent Hyeseong Kim to Triple-A to get more at-bats before bringing him to the majors.

But Pages is batting .118 with a .415 OPS through 11 games, he's already made some baserunning blunders, and allowed the tying run for the Phillies to reach second on a botched play in center field during the weekend's series finale. (That run did go on to score on an RBI single from Bryson Stott).

Pages' days in the majors seem numbered, especially because Kim getting congratulated in the OKC dugout on Sunday immediately raised suspicions that the Dodgers might be giving him his chance. Bringing Kim to the majors would give the Dodgers more defensive versatility all-around, letting them not only use Kim, but Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández in multiple different capacities.

The Dodgers technically have a clear-cut center fielder on hold in the minors, but James Outman has almost completely played himself out of consideration in Triple-A.

What's going on with James Outman, as Dodgers' major league outfield could be in flux?

Outman was never going to make the roster over Pages, who at least offers a little more flexibility on defense and was more reliable last season while Outman weathered multiple options and recalls. He started the year in Triple-A, with the Dodgers undoubtedly hoping he would turn a corner (if only to raise his trade value), but that hasn't happened through eight games so far.

He's batting .152 with a .542 OPS with 14 strikeouts in Oklahoma City. Even when he was struggling in the majors last year, he managed to hit well in Triple-A (.279 average, .933 OPS in 69 games), but it looks like he's completely lost his stride.

When the Dodgers moved Freddie Freeman to the IL, they made a somewhat inexplicable move by bringing up a third catcher in Hunter Feduccia, and that move reflects pretty poorly on Outman. They were willing to carry three catchers instead of giving their former No. 9 prospect another chance.

It's hard not to feel bad for him; this was a guy who placed third in Rookie of the Year voting in 2023 but stumbled, and then all of his confidence seemed to be shot by constant demotions and falling far out of favor with Dodgers management.