There has been talk about the Tampa Bay Rays unloading an outfielder since the start of Spring Training, and now it has come to fruition.
The Tampa Bay Rays announced Monday night that they have traded Austin Meadows to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes and a competitive balance Round B pick.
Meadows who was acquired by Tampa Bay as part of the deal that sent pitcher Chris Archer to Pittsburgh, drove in a team-high 106 runs last year, seventh most in the American League. He finished 2021 with a slash line of .234/.315/.458 and 27 home runs.
Paredes spent parts of the last two seasons with the Tigers. In 23 games in 2021, he hit .208/.306/.319 with a home run and five RBI, but at Triple-A Toledo, he finished with a .847 OPS, 11 home runs, 42 RBI, and walked more than he struck out (56 walks to 47 trikeouts).
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
