Dodgers should turn attention to Triple-A slugger amid James Outman's struggles

When James Outman got call back to the majors on July 6, it was with the general understanding that his stay would be temporary. Outman was sent back to the minors for good reason; he was hitting under .150 when he left, and could never make flashes of power stick around for very long.

But the Dodgers' depth has proven to be rather shallow, and when Jason Heyward went back onto the IL with a bone bruise, LA had to go back to Outman to fill in until Heyward comes back or the trade deadline arrives, whichever comes first.

He got off to a good enough start in his first two games back, with three singles, but it's been radio silence since then. He only came in as defensive sub on Friday against the Tigers and didn't get an at-bat, but he was no help to the Dodgers during their series against the Phillies; he went 0-for-6 and all six of his at-bats ended in strikeouts.

So without any signs of translatable improvement in the minors, the Dodgers will have to stay on their charted course and seek out outfielders at the deadline. However, there is an outfielder Outman played with in Triple-A, who's done more for OKC this season than almost anyone. The Dodgers should have their eyes firmly fixed on prospect Ryan Ward, who leads the PCL in home runs this season with 24.

Dodgers should be keeping a close eye on outfield prospect Ryan Ward, who's been slugging in Triple-A

The Dodgers could opt to give Ward, an eighth-round pick in 2019 who's currently unranked by MLB Pipeline, a call as a very temporary stopgap until the trade deadline in just about two weeks. It would be a rather opportune time to give him his MLB debut and an audition to become more of a reliable depth piece in the future, and the need to accommodate him with a 40-man spot complicates this possibility significantly. Michael Grove to the 60-day? It's imperfect, and no one wants to DFA anyone unnecessarily here.

However, with trade season upon us, Ward has also upped his trade value significantly where Outman's stock has fallen. Although he was briefly hurt this season, Ward is still hitting .283 with a .984 OPS in OKC and has continued to play well since his return.

The Dodgers will certainly try to offer Outman in trade talks after a Rookie of the Year-ish first campaign, but Ward is also at their disposal. If LA doesn't deal either and just keeps Outman in the majors until they've traded for reinforcements, then Ward has made a very good case for himself to supplant Outman as the Dodgers' first call should anything go wrong with their major leaguers.

Ward has also been invited to Dodgers spring training for three consecutive years, so it's clear that the team has him on their radar to a certain extent. Now might be time to finally pull the trigger, though, and either use him as a bargaining chip or give him a shot in LA themselves.