Prior to the start of the 2021 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers renewed the contract of Andrew Toles amid his ongoing battle with mental health issues.
Though the prospect of him playing baseball this year was slim and didn’t come to fruition, keeping a contract in place at the very least ensured the 29-year-old would continue having access to healthcare services.
Toles was arrested last year in Florida when he was found sleeping behind a Federal Express building located at Key West International Airport. He was given multiple opportunities to leave the premises before police officers arrested him on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing.
When news broke of Toles’ arrest, several members of the Dodgers organization reached out to his family. Among them was president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, who selected Toles in the third round of the 2012 MLB Draft as general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s been three seasons since Toles last appeared in a game for the Dodgers, but manager Dave Roberts recently noted his players still think about him at times, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:
“His name will pop up randomly in our clubhouse,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He fit in with us so fondly and was so adored. It’s just sad to see what has transpired and knowing that a lot of it is out of his control. Man, I would love to see him. I’d love to put my arms around him. I miss him. I really miss him.’’
Toles burst onto the scene as a rookie for the Dodgers in 2016, hitting an excellent .314/.365/.505 over 115 plate appearances (48 games). He was expected to take on a much bigger role the following season, but a torn ACL derailed those plans.
Toles would make a full recovery but only appeared in 17 games in 2018. He was placed on the restricted list the following year due to personal reasons and hasn’t been with the team since.
In 96 games over parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, Toles batted .286/.333/.459 with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 35 RBI.
Turner made kind gesture to Toles’ family
When Toles was released from prison last year, his father, Alvin, revealed that Justin Turner offered to pay for Toles’ medical bills for potential treatment.
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