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Tigers Trade For OF Austin Meadows

The Detroit Tigers acquired outfielder Austin Meadows in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night.

Tampa Bay Rays v New York Yankees
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 02: Austin Meadows #17 of the Tampa Bay Rays follows through on his seventh inning three run home run against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on October 02, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Detroit sent infielder Isaac Paredes and a competitive balance round B pick in the 2022 amateur draft to Tampa Bay for Meadows, who hit .234 with 27 homers and a career-high 106 RBIs last season.

Detroit is much improved after going 77-85 last year in its fifth consecutive losing season. Meadows joins a lineup that includes Javier Báez, who signed a blockbuster deal with the Tigers in free agency, and Spencer Torkelson, one of the majors' top slugging prospects.

Meadows, who turns 27 on May 3, is a .260 hitter with 70 homers and 225 RBIs in 375 career games over four seasons. He broke into the big leagues in 2018 with Pittsburgh and was traded to Tampa Bay in the Chris Archer deal that July.

Division Series - Tampa Bay Rays v Boston Red Sox - Game Three
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 10: Austin Meadows #17 of the Tampa Bay Rays signals to teammates after hitting a double in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox during Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Fenway Park on October 10, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

Meadows made the AL All-Star team in 2019, when he finished with a .291 batting average, 33 homers, and 89 RBIs.

Meadows' younger brother, Parker, was selected by Detroit in the second round of the 2018 draft. He played for Class A Lakeland and Class A West Michigan last year.

Paredes, 23, can play second, third, and shortstop. He batted .208 with a homer and five RBIs in 23 games with Detroit last season.

 

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