The White Sox are not expected to be good in 2025, so the season should be focused on player development, as they have a ton of young guys on the roster that could get significant playing time. This could be huge in the player’s development, as sometimes it can take a few seasons for players to get accustomed to the major leagues, but it could potentially be accelerated by consistent playing time.
Additionally, if the White Sox see an opportunity to get a player that has shown potential in the past few years but is now blocked by free agent acquisitions, they should kick the tires and see if they can swing a deal.
Currently, as Sam Fosberg notes, James Outman may be in that category with the Dodgers.
No pun intended, but James Outman is the odd man out in LA. That OF consists of Teoscar, Conforto, Edman, Pages with Betts at SS. Outman hit 23 HR in ‘23…he’s got value!
— Sam Fosberg (@discussbaseball) December 30, 2024
As Fosberg mentions, they currently have Teosacar Hernandez, Michael Conforto, Tommy Edman, and Andy Pages in the outfield. Since Shohei Ohtani is their DH, there’s no spot for any of those names to slide into the DH spot and open an outfield spot.
While Outman didn’t fare too well in 53 games last season, he didn’t have consistent playing time. However, he played extremely well in 2023. In consistent playing time in 151 games, Outman hit .248 with a .353 OBP. He hit 23 homers and had 70 RBIs. These numbers earned him a third place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting, finishing behind Corbin Carroll and Kodai Senga.
James Outman now leads all qualified MLB rookies in homers, triples, RBIs, OBP, SLG and OPS. He also threw a runner out from RF tonight. pic.twitter.com/xmzIC4WXwV
— Rowan Kavner (@RowanKavner) April 21, 2023
If those stats weren’t impressive enough, Baseball Savant graded him out as an elite outfielder in 2023, as he was in the 94th percentile of Outs Above Average.
While Outman will be 28 before the season starts, he is still two years younger than Andrew Benintendi. If the Dodgers are looking to move him to allow him to get more playing time, the White Sox should be all over that. He would instantly be an upgrade in right field and could pave the way for a Benintendi trade.
It is unclear what the Dodgers would be looking for in return, but the White Sox have a ton of pitching prospects they could be interested in. They could work out a similar swap to the deal just a few years ago, when the White Sox sent Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers in exchange for A.J. Pollock.
These are exactly the moves the White Sox should be looking to make, as you need to acquire as much promising talent as possible and figure out the logistics later. The additions of Mike Tauchman and Austin Slater should not prevent the White Sox from making a move like this, as Outman is likely better than both of them and offers much more upside.
