The Tigers placed outfielder Austin Meadows on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to April 7) due to anxiety. Akil Baddoo was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
President of baseball operations Scott Harris released a statement in regards to the transaction, saying that “the Tigers fully support Austin’s decision to step away from the team and prioritize his mental health. As an organization, we have taken many steps to provide and destigmatize mental health resources, and we will do more to help our players tackle the mental and physical challenges they face on a daily basis. We commend Austin for confronting these challenges head-on and ask for our fans in supporting him through every step of his journey back to the field.”
Meadows dealt with similar issues at the end of last season, saying in September that “I hope in sharing my experience I can touch at least one person who might be going through their own struggles and encourage them to reach out to someone for help.” Just prior to the start of Spring Training, Meadows gave a positive update about both his mental and physical health, yet that battle is obviously still ongoing. As Harris’ statement indicated, the Tigers will surely give Meadows all the time he needs to get himself to a better place with his anxiety. We at MLB Trade Rumors wish Meadows all the best in his recovery.
The Rays traded Meadows to Detroit for Isaac Paredes just prior to the start of the 2022 season, and Meadows appeared in only 36 games in his first year with the Tigers. Beyond his mental health struggles, Meadows also spent on the injured list with strains in both of his Achilles tendons, vertigo-like symptoms, and a bout of COVID-19. The result was a .250/.347/.328 slash line over 147 plate appearances, but among all Detroit players with at least 140 PA, Meadows’ 101 wRC+ still ranked second on the team in an overall disastrous offensive year for Tigers hitters.