Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows is dealing with an inner ear infection, which explains why he was not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Baltimore Orioles. Meadows is seeing a doctor for treatment for the issue and the team is hopeful that his absence will only be for Friday's game. Meadows is hitting .270 with nine runs and 11 RBI over 100 at-bats in his first season with the Tigers.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against right-hander Jordan Lyles and the Baltimore Orioles. Robbie Grossman, Willi Castro and Derek Hill will be covering the outfield for the game. Meadows went 0-for-8 in the final two games of the team's five-game series against the Oakland Athletics this week and he's slashing just .167/.231/.222 overall in May. We're still waiting for Meadows to hit his first home run in a Tigers jersey. His average exit velocity on the year (87.3 mph) is a career-low, but he's maintained a career-best 12.2% strikeout rate and he has a stellar .309 xBA.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows (illness) came down with a non-COVID illness on Friday and was forced to miss three straight games. Fortunately, he is back in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the Oakland Athletics. He will be covering right field and batting cleanup. The 27-year-old is slashing .284/.376/.370 over 22 games this year. He's done a great job at avoiding strikeouts with a career-best 14% strikeout rate so far, down from 22% over his career. However, he's still searching for his first home run in a Tigers jersey.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's matchup against the Houston Astros. The former Ray is enjoying a strong .284 batting average but has no home runs and just a .370 slugging percentage. With left-hander Framber Valdez on the mound for the Astros, Meadows, who has a career .709 OPS off of southpaws, will turn things over to Willi Castro. The 25-year-old isn't opening any eyes with his play thus far, as he's slashing .238/.304/.286 with no home runs and a stolen base over 11 games. Fantasy managers can live without picking up Castro on the waiver wire.

Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows has made an instant impact since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays prior to Opening Day. Meadows is batting .417 with a .517 on-base percentage and a 13.8% walk rate in 29 plate appearances for Detroit this season. Meadows, who had 64 combined home runs from 2019 to 2021, has yet to hit a homer for A.J. Hinch's team, but he's already logged a pair of barrels. Primarily batting near the top of the Tigers lineup so far, Meadows should continue to benefit from hitting after Robbie Grossman and ahead of the likes of Javier Baez, Jeimer Candelario, and Miguel Cabrera.

Detroit Tigers outfielders Robbie Grossman and Austin Meadows will hit first and second, respectively, in the order in the team's season-opener against the Chicago White Sox on Friday. Meadows, who was traded to the Tigers on Monday, will be making his debut for the team in the game. Manager A.J. Hinch revealed a few of his lineup intentions for Friday's game on Detroit's 97.1 FM on Friday morning. He also added that Miguel Cabrera would bat fifth. The 26-year-old Meadows had an up-and-down three-plus years with the Tampa Bay Rays before joining the Tigers. Last year, he hit 27 home runs while slashing .234/.315/.458.

The Detroit Tigers have acquired outfielder Austin Meadows in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. In exchange, the Rays are receiving shortstop/third baseman Isaac Paredes and a draft pick. Meadows will give a significant boost to the Tigers' offense. In 2021, he slashed .234/.315/.458 with 27 home runs, 106 RBI and 79 runs. He'll likely start alongside Akil Baddoo and Robbie Grossman in the Tigers outfield as Victor Reyes gets pushed to a reserve outfielder role. Overall, Meadows' fantasy value doesn't change a ton with this trade. He'll have a weaker supporting cast in Detroit, but Detroit's Comerica Park has been a better hitters' park than Tampa's Tropicana Field over the past few years.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows (quad) was removed early in the team's Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday due to quad tightness. According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Meadows was taken straight into the team's clubhouse alongside head athletic trainer Joe Benge after his removal. Meadows is currently ranked No. 143 overall by RotoBaller. He's had a rough spring so far, slashing just .182/.250/.273 over eight games and 24 plate appearances. Stay tuned for more updates on the severity of the injury.

The Tampa Bay Rays and outfielder Austin Meadows avoided salary arbitration on Tuesday by agreeing to a one-year, $4 million deal. Meadows could still be on the move in a trade before the start of the season. The 26-year-old left-handed hitter batted .234/.315/.458 with 27 home runs, 106 RBI and 79 runs scored in 591 plate appearances over 142 games for the Rays in his fourth year with the club in 2021. In order to fully bounce back this year for whichever team he's playing for, Meadows will need to be better against lefties, but he did cut down on his strikeout rate from 32.9% in 2020 to 20.6% last season. If he continues to struggle against southpaws, he could find himself in a platoon role, which would obviously be bad for his fantasy value.

The Philadelphia Phillies have talked to the Tampa Bay Rays about left fielder Austin Meadows, according to a major league source. It was reported earlier that the Phillies are also making a push to sign free-agent outfielder Nick Castellanos. Any additional move for an outfielder in Philadelphia figures to push the recently signed Kyle Schwarber to a full-time designated hitter role in 2022. Meadows would give the Phillies another left-handed outfield bat, and he's also under team control through the 2024 season. The 26-year-old hit just .242 in 142 games for the Rays last year, but he posted 27 home runs and 106 RBI in 591 plate appearances, and he'd arguably be even more attractive in Philadelphia. Meadows will need to be better against left-handed pitchers, though, in order to become a top-tier fantasy outfielder.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows could be a trade candidate after Major League Baseball's lockout ends. Of the Rays players, Meadows and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier are the two likeliest to be dealt before the regular season. Manuel Margot is another possibility. Meadows, 26, will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after the 2022 season and remains under team control through 2024. He hit just .234/.315/.458 but also had 27 home runs and a career-high 106 RBI with 79 runs scored in 142 games for Tampa in 2021. The rise of Randy Arozarena and the presence of Brett Phillips in the Rays outfield has made all three of Meadows, Kiermaier and Margot potentially expendable.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double during Game 3 of the American League Division Series 6-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox. He blasted a two-run shot off Nathan Eovaldi right field to give the Rays a 2-0 lead in the first inning. The 26-year-old later doubled off Hansel Robles in the eighth frame for his second extra-base hit. Meadows sat against lefties for the first two games of the series and is expected to sit Game 4 with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez taking the hill.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows is not in the lineup for Game 1 of the American Division Series against the Boston Red Sox. Meadows will sit with LHP Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound for Boston in Thursday's game. Randy Arozarena shifts to left field and Manuel Margot will handle right field duties while there 26-year-old is out. Meadows has struggled against lefties, slashing .198/.270/.293 across 189 plate appearances in 2021. The Rays will continue to sit Meadows against left-handers throughout the playoffs. Margot has been solid against southpaws and owns a .346 OBP and .753 OPS over 209 plate appearances in 2021.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 12-2 win over the New York Yankees. He drilled a three-run shot to right-center off Joely Rodriguez to extend the Rays lead 12-2. It was his 27th long ball of the season. The 26-year-old is on a six-game hitting streak and is finishing the season on a high note. He is hitting .273 (6-for-22) with a triple, two home runs, six RBI, and five RBI during the streak. Overall Meadows, is slashing .233/.315/.457 with 27 home runs, 106 RBI, 79 runs scored, and four stolen bases over 587 plate appearances in 2021. Meadows will be a top-25 outfielder off the board in upcoming 2022 drafts.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows will be on the bench to start Wednesday's game against the Houston Astros and right-hander Luis Garcia. Meadows is batting .231 with a .314 on-base percentage, 26 home runs, and four stolen bases in 579 plate appearances this season. Manuel Margot will instead get the start in left field and hit sixth. The outfielder could be worth a look as a streaming option in deeper leagues on Wednesday. In 447 plate appearances this season, Margot is batting .257 with a .316 on-base percentage, 10 home runs, and 13 stolen bases.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows is out of the lineup Sunday as the team faces off against left-handed starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo and the Miami Marlins. Meadows has regularly sat against lefties, and increasingly so late in the season. He's had some success with a .250/.360/.500 slash line over his past seven games, but managers in daily formats should remove him from lineups for this one. Meadows has 26 homers, 103 RBI, and 78 runs in 503 at-bats this season, but he's hard to trust for playing time down the stretch with the division title safely in hand.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer during Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. He launched a three-run shot to right-center field to extend the Rays lead 4-0. It was his 26th long ball of the season. The 26-year-old has now collected a hit in six of his last nine games. Overall, the Rays outfielder is slashing .232/314/.454 with 26 home runs, 103 RBI, 75 runs scored, and four stolen bases over 136 games in 2021. Meadows continues to sit against southpaws but remains a strong option for the fantasy baseball playoffs.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows isn't in the lineup Monday against left-handed starter Robbie Ray and the Toronto Blue Jays. Meadows is batting .232 with a .313 on-base percentage, 25 home runs, and four stolen bases in 560 plate appearances this season. Tampa Bay is starting Randy Arozarena, Kevin Kiermaier, and Manuel Margot from left to right in the outfield against the Blue Jays. Arozarena is likely rostered in most leagues, but Margot could have some streaming appeal on Monday despite the tough matchup. In 431 plate appearances this season, the outfielder is batting .260 with a .314 on-base percentage, 10 home runs, and 13 stolen bases. Margot is hitting fourth.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows is out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game on Thursday as the team prepares to face Tyler Alexander and the Detroit Tigers. Kevin Kiermaier, Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena are manning the outfield for the game. It's a bit surprising to see Meadows sitting out two consecutive games without any news of an injury. He's certainly been struggling a bit lately as he's slashed just .206/.200/.500 over his first nine games of September. We'll see if he's back in the lineup for Game 2 of the team's series against the Tigers on Friday.

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Austin Meadows is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against Robbie Ray and the Toronto Blue Jays. Meadows is slashing .232/.313/.454 with 25 HRs in 130 games but has just a .532 OPS off of lefties this season. With Meadows on the bench, Randy Arozarena will shift to left, and Manuel Margot will get the start in right field and bat second. Margot is slashing .268/.339/.405 against lefties and does have 12 SBs this season, so he isn't a bad streaming option in deep leagues.