Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows has stepped away from the team to focus on his mental health, the Tigers announced Saturday. He missed the final month of last season for the same reason.
“The Tigers fully support Austin’s decision to step away from the team and prioritize his mental health,” Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris said in a statement Saturday. “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 our fans to join us in supporting him through every step of his journey back to the field.”
The Tigers acquired Meadows in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays just prior to Opening Day 2022. Meadows spoke candidly about his mental health with the Detroit Free Press in spring training. Here’s what he said at the time:
“It was tough. From a mental health perspective, I’ve been dealing with some stuff a few years before the trade happened, just some anxiety and stuff like that. It got out of control during last offseason, and then the trade happened, and everything snowballed from there. I had a good team of therapists and people to work with down here in Tampa at the time. I was trying to figure everything out while also playing, and everything snowballed when the trade happened. It was just a few days before Opening Day. The trade and going to Detroit had some stuff to do with it, but the anxiety got worse as I changed cities. I couldn’t adjust. That was the gist of it.
“I’m really fortunate to now have a really good therapist up in Detroit that the team has linked me up with. This offseason has been amazing with having our daughter (Adelynne), being in a much better place mentally and being in a much better physical shape. Everything is starting to go in the right direction.”
Meadows, 28 in May, dealt with vertigo and an Achilles injury early last season, and did not play after June 15. He announced in September he would not play again that season to focus on his mental health.
In six games this season, Meadows went 5 for 21 (.238) with a double. Officially, the Tigers placed Meadows on the 10-day injured list with an “anxiety” designation. Outfielder Akil Baddoo was called up to fill the roster spot.