The Tigers and Rays swung a deal late Monday that will send outfielder Austin Meadows to Detroit in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes and a Competitive Balance Round B Draft selection.
Meadows, 26, played in a career-best 142 games last season, hitting .234/.315/.458 with 29 doubles, three triples, 27 home runs and a career-high 106 RBI, which ranked seventh in the American League. He led the Majors with 19 game-winning RBIs, which established a Rays single-season record. Meadows also had 29 go-ahead RBI, which was tied for third in the big leagues. Meadows did some of his best work during the season with runners in scoring position, batting .299/.382/.612 in those situations.
In four Major League seasons, Meadows has hit .260/.333/.489 with 75 doubles, 13 triples, 70 home runs and 225 RBIs in 375 games. His best big league season came in 2019, when he batted .291/.364/.558 with 29 doubles, seven triples, 33 home runs and 89 RBI and was named to the American League All-Star Team. He ranked fifth in the American League in triples that season, while he was sixth in slugging percentage and eighth in OPS (.922).
Meadows’ move to Detroit will be a family affair. His younger brother, Parker, is an up-and-coming prospect in the organization, ranked No. 20 by MLB Pipeline. Parker will be starting the season with High-A West Michigan, but he is regarded as one of the better athletes in the Detroit system, and maybe eventually the brothers can be playing in the same outfield.