Tampa Bay Rays reportedly willing to trade Austin Meadows

It is well known that the Tampa Bay Rays will do anything they can to cut salary costs and keep payroll as low as possible while finding a way to win. As such, it is inevitable that anyone on the roster making even close to a reasonable salary is going to be brought up in trade rumors. That is now the case with Austin Meadows.

As it is, Kevin Kiermaier and Manny Margot have already been part of trade rumors. Now, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Kiermaier and Meadows are considered to be the players most likely to be traded away.

Tampa Bay Rays reportedly put Austin Meadows on trade block

On the surface, Meadows had a bounceback season in 2021. While he was unable to return to his All Star form from 2019, his .234/.315/.458 batting line in 591 plate appearances, with 27 homers and 29 doubles. The sum of his production last season was that of an above average player.

However, Meadows did most of his damage during an impressive five week run. In his 32 games from May 1 through June 6, he produced an excellent .268/.357/.610 batting line, hitting ten homers and ten doubles. Aside from that stretch, he looked like the same player he was in 2020.

Meadows also struggled against lefties. While that had not traditionally been an issue in the past, the same could not be said in 2021. He posted a .198/.270/.293 batting line against lefties, indicating that it may be time for Moeadows to be used in more of a platoon role.

He would still have plenty of value. As a power bat capable of playing either corner outfield spot as the strong side of a platoon, he could be an interesting target for teams looking for a cost effective way to upgrade their outfield. Nonetheless, his projected $4.3 million salary in arbitration is more than the Rays may be willing to spend.

The Tampa Bay Rays are reportedly ready to put Austin Meadows on the trade block. Even though his salary is not exorbitant, it is more than they want to pay.