DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Meadows was placed on the 10-day injured list amid mental health struggles on Saturday.
He is dealing with anxiety, club officials said. It is the second time the 27-year-old MLB veteran has stepped away from the field for mental health reasons in the last seven months.
Meadows was removed from the starting lineup before Saturday's game at Comerica Park against the Boston Red Sox.
Scott Harris, president of baseball operations for the Tigers, released a statement on Meadows' condition, applauding the baseball player for placing his mental health first.
"The Tigers fully support Austin's decision to step away from the team and prioritize his mental health," Harris said. "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 recalled Akil Baddoo from Triple-A Toledo as a result.
Meadows was absent for all, but 36 games during the 2022 season for several issues. The outfielder battled an inner ear infection, vertigo, COVID-19, and continued issues with both Achilles tendons.
Later in the season, he opened up about his mental health struggles which he said was part of the reason for his long time away from play.
“Having an offseason to kind of reset mentally and physically after going through everything I went through, I learned a lot from it,” Meadows said in February via The Atlantic.
“I’m excited to get back out there and take what I learned and be me again.”
Meadows has played in six of seven games this season and is batting .238 with zero walks and three strikeouts.
It remains unclear if Meadows will be away for longer than 10 days.