Austin Meadows’ injury-plagued first season in Detroit continues, as the Tigers announced this evening that he’s been placed on the 10-day injured list with Achilles strains in both legs. The outfielder had been on the COVID-19 list for the past 11 days; he’d been set to go on a minor league rehab assignment but the Achilles issues represent a notable setback. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press writes there’s currently no timetable for his return.
Meadows also lost a couple weeks in May while fighting vertigo-like symptoms. The series of health issues has kept him to 36 games thus far, and his production at the plate has taken a step back. Meadows is hitting .250/.347/.328 across 147 plate appearances, and he’s yet to hit his first home run in a Tiger uniform. The left-handed hitter popped 27 homers and 29 doubles for the Rays last season, but he’s unfortunately not had much of an opportunity to get into a groove this year.
Needless to say, it’s not been the kind of season the Tigers front office envisioned when acquiring Meadows from the Rays for infielder Isaac Paredes and a draft choice just before Opening Day. It’s been something of a Murphy’s law season altogether for the Tigers, who have been hit by a host of injuries in the starting rotation and an offensive drought throughout the lineup. Detroit entered play tonight 28-44 and is certain to move some shorter-term players over the coming weeks after their hopes of competing this season were dashed early on.
Meadows is playing this season on a $4MM salary after avoiding arbitration with the Rays over the winter. He’s controllable twice more via the arb process and can stick around in Detroit through the end of the 2024 campaign.
Vertigo, then covid, now Achilles injuries from doing nothing. What a terrible trade this was.
Dude’s literally having issues from head to toe…
Austin Meadows, too
Curse of the Devil Ray
Isaac Paredes!!!! Looks like the Rays knows business very well
“Paredes got traded because he has no power”
Rays: “Hey Isaac, hit the ball in the air, okay?”
Paredes hits 9 HRs in a month….
I kind of feel bad for the Tigers this year. Murphy’s Law really struck them hard, and that might be an understatement,
Avila’s Law
RIP @DetroitDave84
Yeah, how many posts did DetroitDave accumulate over about a week on how the Tigers stole the Rays blind?
If all y’all want a good laugh, search for the April 4 MLBTR story on the trade and resulting feedback. My favorite is jstats and how “everyone in the baseball world is applauding the Tigers for stealing the Rays blind” and what a genius AL Avila is/was. Less than 3 months later….
I say this often enough, especially about writers, but the casual fans have Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS). They generally side with the player they’ve heard of over the player they don’t know much about.
Meadows had a great year in 2019, but that was with the juiced ball. In his other 900+ PAs with TB, he accumulated a 2.0 bWAR. And he is one-dimensional, even to the point of poor R/L splits.
IRT Paredes, some Tiger fans were writing him off on the basis of a handful of ABs at age 21 & 22. It was way too early. Paredes had excellent numbers all thru the minors, with an excellent K/W. I don’t know anything about his glove, but there was no reason to think he couldn’t hit.
The Tigers were forced to make a trade because of Greene’s injury, but there was never a reason to think that they won the trade.
In the Tigers’ defense, Meadows wasn’t bad last season. 27 homers, .772 OPS, 115 OPS+ is good. It’s not the best ever for a LF/DH, but it does the job. No way could the Tigers have predicted that he’d have zero home runs through nearly 150 plate appearances and be this injured.
I don’t disagree. It could not have worked out any worse for the Tigers. And I said that on the original thread-they had to make a move to replace Greene. My objection was to the Tiger fans who thought this was a pure fleecing. The Tigers were always likely to lose value on the trade.
Your third paragraph is the most poignant. Paredes was in the majors as a 21-22 years old, an age when most players are in A-ball. He knows the difference between a ball and a strike and always had the power potential. I was disappointed when they traded him, but the Tigers outfield was weak and had just taken a further blow when Riley Greene fractured his foot.
You generally have to give value to get somebody good and Austin Meadows seemed like a reasonable acquisition. I don’t think anyone would have see this string of injuries and illnesses.
Al Avila is still a well below average GM and needs to go, but I don’t really put too much blame on him for this deal. However, in the context of all his other failed deals (signings and trades), the body of work is poor. But that’s what you get from an “owner” (president of the Lucky Sperm Club) who thinks Little Caesar’s cheesy ketchup toast qualifies as pizza.
Avila still needs to go
Ok, please explain how both Achilles developed issues at the same time??? Water skiing accident? What else could impact both at the same time and to the same degree?
Too early to judge the trade, as Tigers still get two more years control, but early on, looks like Avila got fleeced.
Meanwhile, aside from needing to fire Avila, the Tigers strength and conditioning personnel all need to be replaced.
A few theories come to mind:
Back issues (especially lower back) put more strain on the legs and would cause issues in both legs at the same time.
Ill advised exercises, like calf presses, could definitely strain both legs equally, over time, and lead to this.
Or it could be bad nutrition/conditioning. If he is not eating properly, stretching properly, or pushed himself too hard during Covid (which weakens your muscles).
Back issues (especially lower back) put more strain on the legs
=====================================
That cuts both ways. If I am not stretching virtually every day, then my legs tighten up. That absorbs less of the blow even when walking, which my back then absorbs.
As you mentioned, stretching is vital.
I was thinking the same exact thing. I read it and was like “how do you even do that?”
Switching to zero-drop (aka barefoot) shoes
I don’t think AM wants to be in Detroit. Worst acquisition since Edgar Renteria. The guy who used to just wear his Tiger uniform to bed and show up like he was in pajamas.
Meadows is trying to not play his way out of the Motor City.
I don’t think that is true. His brother plays in the Tigers system
Tampa might have to try and “lose” some trades before no one deals with them anymore.
Only team to win big in a Tampa trade? Of all teams, the Rockies, who stole German Marquez from them for Corey Dickerson.
There’s a good chance the Twins won big too. Joe Ryan looks like a solid mid-rotation starter at the very worst and all he cost was a couple of months of what little was left of Nellie Cruz and his salary.
Put me in the camp of those who thought the Rays were out of their minds when they made that trade. Turns out I was wrong. Although I do suspect that Parades would cool off.
Looking forward to Avila’s next trade. Probably Fulmer for another team’s trash. He could have traded Fulmer for a king’s ransom a few years back. Just like he failed to get anything for Matt Boyd. It makes me sad to think of all the ways Avila has failed. Don’t know how anyone thinks he has done a good job.
Fulmer looked like a building block with his Rookie of the Year award. Then he needed nerve transplantation, then knee surgery, then TJ. You can’t tell me you “knew” he wasn’t going to work out and would have traded the AL ROY. The injuries started piling up right after that.
You can’t (usually) predict injuries. But you can reasonably predict that the Tigers were really bad and needed a rebuild. Folks have differing opinions on this, but if I am going to be a .400 team, I would trade whatever chips I had. No one will remember whether you won 55 or 60 games.
The Tigers were obviously going into a rebuild. Fulmer was going to be a free agent around the time the Tigers would be exiting the rebuild. Trade an asset that could walk before the team is truly competitive again for a boatload of controllable assets. Even assuming Fulmer did not get hurt it was the right thing to do with no crystal ball needed.
Glasnow has a good year and then goes down with Tommy John surgery. Meadows has one good year, a subpar year, gets traded to Detroit and can’t stay healthy. Shane Baz has apparently gone the route of Big Foot
Pirates fans will forever call this the Curse of Chris Archer trade
Too early to claim Shane Baz to be anything other than rookie year luck. He needs to be consistent and still see control issues with him. People can’t get over that trade. That Ruth trade, was far worse
Too early, but this certainly seems like a lot more than luck. He was a top-10 prospect with a 2.81 career ERA and a 3.9 K/W.
The Archer trade was the worst trade of all time according to some of the knuckleheads on here.Now Tiger fans are lamenting this trade.Who knew that Meadows would have all of these injuries?And who knew that Archer’s body would go south.
Just goes to show the Monday morning quarterbacking going on in the MLB Trade Rumors universe.
The worst? I dunno. It needs to be kept in context and as such, it certainly rates as one of the Pirates’ worst.
Here’s a team that was trading its stars or allowing them to walk all because they became too expensive after success. Ok, that’s one thing
But at the same time, you then start to jettison the players who are supposed to represent the next wave, your blue chip guys?
That is what was frustrating to me. This was a front office that simply had no master plan
We have discussed this before and you are consistent in your take.I think that NH was a pretty consistent and conservative guy and was going for the knockout punch as Archer would have been a good #2 and he had TAillon,Musgrove,and Williams,plus the fifth starter that he had signed and was doing well.Remember that they had just swept the Brewers not three,not four,but five games and were feeling it.
The problem that I had was including Baz,but I think that at least they were trying after two mediocre years.
At least 2018 was their only winning year since 2015!
My post above really refers to the clueless posters who did not remember the Ruth and Frank Robinson trades who thought that baseball started in the year 2000.
I think Al & co. are using the IL for staging not for actual injuries. He thinks he’s being clever and protecting his investments. E. Rodriguez goes on IL then when eligible has to take a month+ off to deal with a family issue? Meadows gets vertigo, then Covid, then strains his Achilles all in one month? Pineda takes a month off because he cut his finger? Candelera hits .180 and suddenly has a mysterious injury?
You watch .190 hitting Schoop will be next for the tigers vacation plan. He’ll pull something soon.
Schoop can take a vacay anytime he wants as far as I am concerned. Great defensively but can’t hit a lick anymore.
Wale- That is a “ whale” of a tale as far as I am concerned.
That kind of disengenuous crap does not really happen,does it?
I think the jury is still out on this trade a bit. Meadows is still controlled through 2024. Paredes has been impressive, I am actually gravitating towards his recent highlights. I’m curious as to the system the Rays use to predict these breakouts. It’s fascinating to me.
I agree. Obviously, the Rays are looking like they’ve won the trade right now, but Meadows is a proven commodity who’s placed top 20 in MVP voting in both of his full seasons he’s played. Paredes is off to a great start but could turn out to be a Baddoo situation for the Rays by next year. Too early to judge.
Al Avila has nothing to show for all the present MLB stars he trade , JV , JD Martinez and Castleonos. Other minor deals haven’t worked either. Alex Lange and 1.5 out of 5 good years from Candy are all we have from tearing down a team of superstars.
You are absolutely correct. JD Martinez for 3 utility infielders Lugo, King, Alcantara. Verlander for Rogers, Cameron, Perez. Do I need to go on?
Casteleonos scherzer price prince fielder porcello …..5 Cy young pitcher and fuller , candy and Lange + meadows
Achilles Strains was having such a strong season before landing on the IL.
Regardless of who got fleeced in this particular trade, it is well past time for Avila to hit the road. His trades over the years have been dismal (JD Martinez,Verlander,Paredes, etc) his FA signings have been laughable and outside of obvious top of the draft picks like Greene and Torkelson his picks have been brutal. Some will point to Skubal being a 9th round pick, but that is a rarity for big Al. Was truly hoping that Chris Illitch was alot like his old man but starting to truly worry about his ownership as well. The Pistons (Troy Weaver and Tom Gores) Lions (Brad Holmes and Sheila Ford) and Wings (Stevie Yzerman) are all looking good with competent GMs and Ownership (yes, even the Lions). It’s time the Tigers switch it up and try to do the same.
Zilwaukee Bridge, Water Crisis, Edenville Dam, Tigers rebuild… You can blame Trump; that might fix it.
Al had to make this trade because he was selling the narrative that we were bound for the playoffs. He even believed it himself, probably.
dude hire the superfife.
I’m sorry, maybe I’m reading into this too much, but I’m not buying this. This feels very similar to the ERod situation. Going through all these injuries and then when about ready to come back, something else comes up. I don’t think either one of them want to be here.
Sorry, not buying that. ERod knew what he was signing up to when he accepted the contract offer, that the team is hopefully near the end of rebuilding. Meadows didn’t have a choice in the matter, but his younger brother plays in the Tigers system and he stated publicly that it would be cool to play together for the first time. That only happens in Detroit.
People all the time get involved with things only to find out it’s much worse than what they perceived it to be after getting to know it. In my 40 years of following baseball I’ve never heard of a guy taking extended time off for marital issues. If anything, it makes more sense to work while going through that to take the focus off situation. This coupled with a weird injury, then rehab, and then all of the sudden marital issues?
As for Meadows, any competitive athlete wants to win over anything else. His brother has shown very little in the minors, and is nowhere near being called up, and may never be called up. Sorry, but I disagree.
One organization is committed to winning. The other is committed to making enough money to be just comfortable. Don’t let the good Miggy years fool you. Detroit has had less than a dozen winning seasons and only 5 playoff appearances since the Ilitch family has occupied the front office going back to the ‘92-93 offseason. The team’s performance is a direct reflection on how the ownership views it as an asset. They have become Lionsesque to the point of being literal neighbors geographically. So sad for what was a storied franchise not so long ago.
I feel sorry for Miggy. I was looking forward to a bit of a dynasty for this storied Detroit Tiger team. Never happened, doesn’t look like it is going to happen. Sad. Very sad.
Mr.Mike I, was just trying to pop one in there via the Dombrowski method. When he passed, I understood Mr Chris I moving cautiously, I mean, who wants to be the idiot to blow a billion dollar inheritance….but at this point, there is no way to explain all of the missed opportunities.
Now is the time (and he is late) to invest heavy in the Tigers to secure a future fan base and I don’t mean following the Dombrowski method of landing superstar FAs to “fill in the holes”, that’s idiotic and proven to be unsustainable…..
He needs to pay the price for top prospects…you don’t get something for nothing…..he is either getting bad advise or is just pocketing money in the here and now, no thought to the future.
Golly, I wish they would…..
Hire the Superfife
I don’t want to say it, because its kinda hurtful, but….
You’d think Chris and the entire family would honor his memory by totally going for it.
Even the Superfife is embarrassed to say it.
Im not sure what you mean about the ‘Dombrowski’ method..? Double D was never a big money spender until he was instructed to by Mr. I.
Dude helped build the 83 White Sox playoff team out of a steady stream of shrewd moves and player development. That mid nineties Expos team that ended up feeding a steady stream of All Stars all over the big leagues, that was him too. Not to mention the Marlins team in ‘03 and most all of the talent that came from that core…Not to mention his early work with Detroit. This big spending moniker came moreso because of Mr. I’s desperation than it being ‘the Dombrowski way’ and this organization, under the Ilich fam has had a history of giving out alot of good money to alot of bad to mediocre players. There is a really good story DD told the press once (when we were winning) about coming in and being really miffed at having to try and get something for the bad contacts of guys like Craig Paquette, Shane Halter and a litany of other bums getting paid what they were just because Mr I was the only one that would pay them as much…and not being able to..
Mike Moore, Damien Easley, Higgy, Dean Palmer (tho to be fair Palmer did kinda rake for us til his back gave out…three seasons in) or being dumb enough to let your GM trade a bevy of solid major leaguers and two future all stars for one year of a 19 home run Juan Gonzales hoping he’d sign a huge contract to hit in a park that was nearly 390 to the left field power alley when it first opened (Comerica). Yup that was Mr. I.
Maybe he loved baseball and yes, woo hoo, he was drafted by them as an infielder back in the day. But the fact that AL AVILA had to talk him out of signing Chris Davis to that monster deal that Baltimore ended up inking and paying a bit less for less years of Justin Upton proves his lack of savvy as an owner with a big pocketbook. To suppliment this argument, (where the order to spend big comes from) …the Wings didn’t draft Coffey, Luc, Wendell Clark, Brett Hull, Hasek (or Vernon), Shanny, Cheli and so on…Mr. I told Ken Holland to spent for those guys…because drafting/trading for the Russian five wasn’t enough…the only difference is that they won. Alot. One quarter century of uninterrupted playoff appearances, and four cups (shoulda been seven, but i wont be greedy.) and after seeing what Stevie Y was able to do as far as developing this most recent near dynasty of the Lightning while Ken Holland was dishing out monster deals to Alfredsson, Zetterberg, the Mule (Franzen) and so on, i’d say if it wasn’t for DD helping to curb Mr. I’s spending enthusiasm early on, we might not have gotten as far as we did. Because let’s remember Pudge and Magglio were both at the timeENORMOUS gambles, both pushed and signed off on by Mr. I. Pretty sure if left to his own device with less of an ‘involved, passionate’ owner, DD would have had this a consistent playoff team anyway with a bit thicker of a farm system than what came to be. He, after all had a track record of established success when he came to Detroit in late ‘02, while Mr. I was coming off his what, ninth or tenth straight losing season? Makes me wonder where we’d be if Ilich would have ok’d the Porcello and prospects for Halladay package that was on the table at the ‘09 deadline (that’s a fun imaginary worm hole to go down) or not have shelled out the mega deal to Fielder, because really, that was the beginning of the end, right there. I just think its unfair that DD got the reputation as a carefree spender when that was not at all his style til he ran into a desperate owner who shoulda stuck with hockey. Even what used to be marginally good pizza now sucks.
Sorry I know this was long, lol, but i have detested these guys owning the Tigers since they bought the team from Monaghan. (Another dude making bad Pizza). TBH, this team hasn’t had an ownership group that was consistantly good at operating a baseball franchise through all its facets (losing and winning) since Fetzer and he at least left a budding World Series Champion and a solid core to the first of the two marginal pizza slingers. And a guy who has had success before and after this disaster of a 32 season run shouldnt have his credentials tarnished by bad ownership. And when its all said and done, DD is gonna have a plaque in Cooperstown, while the Ilich family still slogging through a losing record as owners of the Detroit Tigers.
Best thing Mr. I ever did was to hire Ernie Harwell back after Monaghan let some dude named Glenn (lost the right to be called ‘Bo’ fire him.)
Your logic is just awful.
You feel sorry for Miggy? He’s collected 32m a year for the last 5 years of very poor production while not taking care of himself at all. Injuries are far more likely to happen when you’re not conditioned. He wouldn’t even be in baseball if it wasn’t for that ridiculous contract. At the very best he would be a 26th man who could pinch hit and be a mentor.
How do you invest heavy energy in prospects? You don’t buy prospects, you draft or trade for them. If you meant free agents, that’s precisely thr method that’s not sustainable.
It’s so funny that you think you’re being smart when your post is total nonsense. Google Dunning Kruger.
Seems like, you really do not want to communicate, only argue to make yourself feel superior.
You are in no way superior to the Superfife and I, for one, refuse to be browbeat.
Feeling foe Miggie because we want a perennial winner, not his money…geeze….understand, empathy?…winning is the goal.
Duh…yes, trading for prospects, you have to pay a price in the return, signing bonuses and team extensions increase trade value, and you have to trade good or useful players to get anything good or useful back…..
Hire the Superfife
Get me off of this board.and away from these people…..
Just another, in a long list of moves, that blew up like an exploding cigar in Avila’s face !
Weighing the good, bad and even OK career of Al Avila, it’s still time to let him go.
Problem is C.I doesn’t want to spend the money on more players or a proven GM
Sad! Been a Tiger fan for 60 years
Sorry, it gets worse
Losing 3-0 to KC and getting 5 hits
This bunch is a joke from the top down.
3/4 guys to build around and the rest is garbage
Thanks for letting me rant, poor division, lousy team
It could be worse.
You could be a Pirates fan.