When the Detroit Tigers opted to move prospect infielder Isaac Paredes to the Tampa Bay Rays in a trade, the expectation was that he would not pan out. The team was able to pick up Austin Meadows from the Rays in that deal, who have been battling vertigo issues which is no fault of his own.
The Detroit Tigers have been unlucky on a trade that looked like they were the clear winner on paper. But, there was some skepticism around the Rays moving Meadows to the Tigers for that cheap and the Rays’ history of re-branding players; this might be one of those situations.
Meadows’ performance has been excellent when he is healthy, but the Tigers are currently losing this trade with the performance that Paredes has shown in 2022. He’s been a red-hot part of the Rays’ offense and even has performed well enough to earn some recognition.
Paredes was deemed the American League (AL) Player of the Week for his strong performance on Monday. He performed at an 11-for-19 clip, adding five home runs and two doubles to his credit. Three of those home runs came in one game, and Paredes also picked up nine RBI over the last week.
It was a heck of a performance for the former Tigers prospect who has been red hot in 2022. The Tigers have to be kicking themselves a little bit. But could anyone have seen this coming?
Former Detroit Tigers infielder Isaac Paredes is proving a point with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Detroit Tigers gave Paredes chances in his time in Detroit, but he never really broke out and showed the skills the team expected him to have. Over two seasons with the Tigers big league club, he mustered up 57 games played with a .215/.290/.302 over 193 plate appearances. He added ten extra-base hits and picked up only 21 RBI for the Tigers.
Now, in 2022 with the Rays, he has outperformed those numbers in almost every category. Paredes has logged 108 plate appearances over 34 games played, where he’s slashed .255/.315/.612 with five doubles and ten home runs with 21 RBI in Tampa.
The Tigers have seen Paredes struggle to hit and get punched out 26% of the time while with the team. With the Rays, he’s performed to a much different tune, with just a near-15% punchout rate while driving the ball out of the ballpark.
Though he is not an everyday player, he still has found his way into games. After his recent performance, the Rays ought to be testing the water to see if he can keep this up. He’s likely earned himself some more frequent playing time for the time being with his POTW performance.
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For the Tigers, they are left with Meadows, who is working back from a COVID-19 protocol stint after also dealing with a vertigo issue that lingered, keeping him off the field. It is a tough pill to swallow for the Tigers, who were jumping for joy after acquiring Meadows.
This has a very familiar vibe to it. When the Detroit Tigers gave up on Eugenio Suárez early, opting to move him to the Cincinnati Reds. That trade came back to bite them when Suárez became a power hitter, slugging 49 homers in 2019 and receiving MVP votes in both 2018 and 2019.
It’s not to say that Paredes will become a 50- home run hitter or become an all-star, but the performance he’s showing has to bite the Tigers. Even if it’s just a little bit, Paredes has been solid for the Rays compared to his time in Detroit.
While the Tigers looked like the early victors of this trade, the future is not as certain as it initially seemed.
