He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (2008-2009, 2011), Colorado Rockies (2012-2013), Cleveland Indians (2014), and New York Yankees (2014).

Outman graduated from Lindbergh High School and then pitched for Forest Park Community College in Saint Louis before transferring to the Central Missouri State.

[1] On July 17, 2008, Outman was traded, along with fellow prospects Adrian Cardenas and Matthew Spencer, to the Oakland Athletics for starting pitcher Joe Blanton.

[2] Outman was called up to the majors for the first time on September 2, 2008, and pitched two scoreless innings that night against the Kansas City Royals, striking out two.

Outman's performance in the 2009 season gave him the fan nickname "Out-Man", because of his ability to get the easy outs [citation needed].

Outman's brother, Zachary, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays, in the 28th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft, out of Saint Louis University.

On January 16, 2012, Outman, along with pitcher Guillermo Moscoso, was traded to the Colorado Rockies for outfielder Seth Smith.

[7] Josh Outman was acquired by the New York Yankees on August 28, 2014 in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

On May 7, 2017, Outman signed with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

On November 11, 2017, he was traded to the Rieleros de Aguascalientes along with Andres Ivan Meza, Julio Felix, and Ramon Delgado.