During his at-bat on Wednesday, a 94-mph fastball flew high and inside toward the Detroit Tigers’ outfielder and struck his chin hard in a frightening turn of events. In the aftermath of the hit, James Outman needed a few moments to recover. As he stood with a reportedly glazed look on his face, Outman could not recall if the pitch deflected off his shoulders first. The 29-year-old remained in the game, but he was not out of the woods yet.
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Before the Tigers defeated the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 on Thursday, the team placed Outman on the 7-day concussion list. Outman joined outfielders Riley Greene, Matt Vierling, Kerry Carpenter, Wenceel Pérez, and Parker Meadows on the IL. He suffered the injury in the bottom of the seventh inning, when the Tigers lost 6-4 to the Guardians on Wednesday. Jason Beck, Tigers beat reporter for MLB.com, posted the whole hit-by-pitch sequence on X.
“Tigers OF James Outman goes on 7-day concussion IL after he took an Erik Sabrowski fastball off his chin (possibly deflected off his shoulder first) last night. Trei Cruz recalled from Triple-A Toledo,” Beck reported on his X handle.
On Wednesday, Outman stepped up to the plate to hit as Erik Sabrowski inherited the runner from Colin Holderman with one out. The left-hander’s first pitch went high and sharply struck Outman. The outfielder, however, stayed in the game and even came to bat in the ninth when he was struck out.
Tigers’ manager, AJ Hinch, revealed that he asked the Guardians’ catcher, Austin Hedges, about the details of the hit.
“I asked Hedges on the way by where the pitch actually hit him,” Hinch said, per The Detroit News.
“Hedges said it ricocheted and hit him in the chin. But it probably feels like he got sucker-punched. When I got out there, he [Outman] was immediately trying to get ready to go to first.”
In Outman’s case, signs of concussion did not show up until late at night after he went home. His wife helped the player and the team recognize delayed concussion symptoms. Following the alert from his family, the Tigers placed Outman on the 7-day concussion protocol, per MLB guidelines. MLB directs teams to place players diagnosed with a concussion or suspected of suffering from one on a 7-day IL. The players are closely monitored during this time.
“We had him seen by the doctors again,” Hinch reportedly said about Outman’s injury. “We ran him through another round of the protocol, and he did have mild concussion symptoms this morning.”
Outman became the second outfielder to land on the IL during their series against the Guardians. During the series opener, the Tigers’ All-Star left fielder Riley Greene strained his right hamstring while scoring from first on Spencer Torkelson’s double. But he was also hit by a 92.1 mph sinker from Tanner Bibee below his right knee during his at-bat. However, the hit-by-pitch was apparently not responsible for the injury.
Following Outman’s injury, the Tigers called up Trei Cruz from Triple-A Toledo. He was hitting .229 at Toledo, with 2 homers and 28 RBIs. During the series finale on Thursday, Outman was in the dugout donning a hoodie and sunglasses. Hinch revealed that Outman was disappointed to have to sit out games.
James Outman has played in 94 games this season across two teams. He is hitting .183 for the Tigers with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs so far. The Tigers claimed him off waivers this June, after division rival the Minnesota Twins designated him for assignment.
With their win in the series finale on Thursday, the Tigers (60-61) have now pushed the Texas Rangers (60-62) down from their third Wild Card spot. Next, they will take on the division toppers, the Chicago White Sox, on Friday, trying to keep their postseason push alive.