Austin Meadows’ painfully unlucky year just got even worse.
On Tuesday, the Detroit Tigers placed the outfielder on the injured list with strains in his left and right Achilles.
If that bizarre happenstance wasn’t bad enough, the 27-year-old has already endured another ailments. The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen detailed all of Meadows’ misfortunes this season.
Meadows went on the injured list with an inner-ear infection in May that led to a bout of vertigo. Per MLB.com’s Jason Beck, he said the ordeal was “definitely scary.”
“It was weird,” Meadows said, “because I had that sinus infection that hit me, and everything kind of picked up after that and it kind of took a turn for the worse. I know a lot of people get just plain vertigo. For me, I feel like it was building up to it, so it was kind of hard to relate to a lot of people about it.”
He returned on June 7, but was sidelined again 10 days later after testing positive for COVID-19. A positive test also derailed his 2020 season.
After clearing protocols, Meadows was originally scheduled to begin a minor-league rehab stint over the weekend. It could now be a while before he returns.
Meadows looked like one of MLB’s top rising stars when batting .291/.364/.558 with 33 homers and 12 steals in 2019. However, he’s since struggled to stay on the field.
Acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays last offseason, Meadows has yet to hit a home run for his new team. Isaac Paredes, sent back to Tampa Bay in the deal, has gone deep five times (and hit two doubles) in his last four games.
Here’s to hoping this unfortunate string of ailments ends for Meadows.