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Amid the anticipation for college basketball's biggest day, the Detroit Tigers sneakily completed a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Austin Meadows.
The 26-year-old outfielder is heading to Detroit in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes and a Competitive Balance Round B selection. The team eventually confirmed the deal on Twitter as they also welcomed Meadows to the team.
We have acquired OF Austin Meadows from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for INF Isaac Paredes and a competitive balance-B pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. pic.twitter.com/33E6FppgET
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 5, 2022
It is definitely a solid move for the Tigers as they now added outfield help alongside Robbie Grossman, Víctor Reyes and Akil Baddoo. However, it still came as a shocker since there has been no indication that they were working on the deal prior to Monday, nor were they seeking to add outfield depth. They did seem to like their trio of Grossman, Reyes and Baddoo anyway.
Austin Meadows is an interesting pickup for Detroit. He had his breakout campaign in 2019 when he hit 33 home runs in 591 plate appearances. He registered averages of .291/.364/.558, establishing himself as one of the best young players in the MLB.
However, he struggled in the past two years–at least by his 2019 standards–and put up just a .205/.296/.371 line during the 2020 campaign–though it's worth noting that it was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He bounced back in 2021 by hitting .234/.315/.458 in 591 appearances on the plate, though he only has 27 homers and his on-base percentage not at its best.
It will be interesting to see how Meadows fit in with the Tigers. However, it could be the fresh start he needs to return to his dominant self.
