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Inside The Dodgers

How Are Michael Conforto, James Outman, Dustin May, Other Former Dodgers Doing in 2026?

Catching up with some old friends in new places.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dustin May (3) walks off the field after being relieved in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on April 4.
St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Dustin May (3) walks off the field after being relieved in the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on April 4. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

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With the 2026 MLB regular season entering its fourth week, here's a look at how a handful of former Los Angeles Dodgers in new places are doing with their current teams around the league.

Michael Conforto, Chicago Cubs

Conforto, who gave the Dodgers -0.7 bWAR last season in exchange for their $17 million investment, is off to a much better start in his first season with the Cubs.

Through Wednesday, Conforto had a .273/.429/.364 slash line as a backup corner outfielder. It's a small sample size (28 plate appearances), but if Conforto can keep up his plate discipline (six walks), it could help extend the 33-year-old's career longer than it appeared he could a year ago with the Dodgers.

James Outman, Minnesota Twins

Outman was the No. 3 vote-getter in the 2023 NL Rookie of the Year race as the Dodgers' everyday center fielder. Since playing 151 games that season, he's only appeared in a total of 127 major league games with the Dodgers and Twins, spending most of his time on the bench or in Triple-A while batting .132 in the majors.

Outman might not be adding to those totals for much longer. In 15 games with the Twins, he's still looking for his first hit of 2026. Outman is 0-for-18 with two walks and 10 strikeouts.

Outman is out of minor league options, making him a strong candidate to be designated for assignment if he doesn't start hitting soon.

Anthony Banda, Twins

Banda was designated for assignment by the Dodgers this spring in a surprise move. They ultimately traded him to the Twins, where he's struggled early this season.

Banda has made nine appearances, sporting a 10.38 ERA over 8.2 innings. It's a far cry from the 3.18 ERA he had across 71 appearances last year, and the 3.08 ERA he had over 48 appearances in 2024.

Dustin May, St. Louis Cardinals

May, 28, will forever be remembered for helping the Dodgers win the 2020 World Series — and fetching James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard in a deadline trade with the Boston Red Sox last summer.

May won't be remembered for his six games in Boston at the end of last season — he went 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA for the Red Sox — and is already off to a forgettable start to 2026 in St. Louis.

In four starts for the Cardinals, May is 2-2 with a 6.98 ERA. He's limited home runs and walks while striking out 15 batters in 19.1 innings, and his 3.88 FIP might give him some rope.

But if May can't limit opposing hitters' contact (27 hits), the Cardinals might have little choice but to send him to the bullpen — the same fate he was facing last year in Los Angeles.

Tony Gonsolin, Free Agent

Gonsolin elected free agency on Nov. 12, 2025 when he lost his 40-man roster spot. He wasn't going to pitch for the Dodgers or anyone any time soon after undergoing season-ending elbow surgery last August.

He remains a free agent.

Michael Kopech, Free Agent

Kopech was a valuable reliever for the Dodgers last year when he was healthy, allowing only six hits and three runs across 11 innings while striking out 13 batters. But he spent most of 2025 on the injured list with a knee issue, and remains unsigned as a free agent.

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J.P. Hoornstra
J.P. HOORNSTRA

J.P. Hoornstra is an On SI Contributor. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers in California, J.P. covered MLB, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Los Angeles Angels (occasionally of Anaheim) from 2012-23 for the Southern California News Group. His first book, The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games of All-Time, published in 2015. In 2016, he won an Associated Press Sports Editors award for breaking news coverage. He once recorded a keyboard solo on the same album as two of the original Doors.

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