LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers did not wait lengthy to handle the opening of their outfield created by prospect Riley Greene’s fractured foot.
On Monday, the Tigers acquired outfielder Austin Meadows from the Tampa Bay Rays in trade for 23-year-old infielder Isaac Paredes and a 2022 aggressive round-B draft decide (No. 71 total).
When Greene is wholesome, he would be the Tigers’ beginning middle fielder. Meadows will arrive in Lakeland on Tuesday and journey with the group Wednesday afternoon to Detroit for Opening Day.
Meadows, 26, is owed $4 million for the 2022 season. The left-handed hitter can be arbitration-eligible for the second time after this season and is below group management by the 2024 season.
Meadows, the older brother of Tigers outfield prospect Parker Meadows, was an American League All-Star in 2019 with the Rays. That season, he hit .291 with 33 house runs.
Final 12 months, Meadows hit simply .234, although he nonetheless launched 27 homers in 518 at-bats. He began 72 video games in left subject and one other 58 at designated hitter. The Tigers’ Opening Day outfield is anticipated to characteristic Meadows in left subject, Akil Baddoo in middle subject and Robbie Grossman in proper subject.
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The Tigers have added six gamers on MLB contracts forward of the 2022 season: Meadows, shortstop Javier Baez (six years, $140 million), left-handed starter Eduardo Rodriguez (5 years, $77 million), left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin (two years, $13 million), right-handed starter Michael Pineda (one-year, $5.5 million) and catcher Tucker Barnhart (commerce from Cincinnati Reds).
Paredes debuted as a 21-year-old through the 2020 season, hitting .220 with a house run and 4 doubles in 34 video games. Final season, he hit .208 with 5 extra-base hits in 23 video games. Initially a 3rd baseman, the Tigers had Paredes work at second base for a lot of the season in Triple-A Toledo. In 72 video games with the Mud Hens, he hit .265 with a .397 on-base proportion and 11 house runs.
Meadows was initially drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates within the first spherical (No. 9 total) out of highschool in Georgia in 2013. The Pirates dealt him to the Rays on the commerce deadline in 2018, together with right-hander Tyler Glasnow, in trade for righty Chris Archer.
The deal for Meadows isn’t the primary time the Tigers have despatched an infield prospect to the Rays. In 2014, then-general supervisor Dave Dombrowski orchestrated a three-team commerce wherein shortstop Willy Adames and left-hander Drew Smyly went to Tampa Bay, Austin Jackson went to the Seattle Mariners and the Rays despatched infielder Nick Franklin to the M’s and star left-hander David Price to the Tigers.
Adames debuted in 2018 with the Rays and hit .254 with 43 homers over 332 video games with the franchise. The Rays traded Adames to the Milwaukee Brewers in Might 2021; he posted a slash line of .285/.366/.521 with 20 homers in 99 video games with the Brewers.
Extra lately, present common supervisor Al Avila acquired outfielder Mike Mahtook from the Rays in January 2017, sending pitching prospect Drew Smith (who was later traded to the New York Mets) to Tampa Bay.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or observe him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.
This text initially appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers acquire Austin Meadows in trade with Tampa Bay Rays
