3 Ways the Detroit Tigers offseason could turn spooky

3. Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows retires from baseball

We all hope that Austin Meadows is suited and ready to go when next season rolls around, but perhaps the spookiest and most serious development that remains possible is that outfielder Austin Meadows steps away from baseball for good.

Austin has dealt with a litter of sicknesses and injuries this year ranging from COVID to vertigo to issues with both achilles before eventually becoming public about some mental health struggles he has been facing in between. Baseball is a game of failure–those struggles may only compound when mental clarity is fogged.

It’s scary from a team perspective, sure. Meadows was expected to be a middle-of-the-order bat heading into the 2022 season and was coming off a season in which he hit 27 home runs and batted 106 in for Tampa. Exponentially more important: it would be a dire situation on an individual level and would further speak to the seriousness with which his mental health journey has taken him.

We wish the best to Austin Meadows and hope to see him ready to go as the starting left fielder for the Detroit Tigers on Opening Day 2023.