Andrew Toles

Andrew Toles
Toles taking batting practice in 2016
Los Angeles Dodgers
Outfielder
Born: (1992-05-24) May 24, 1992 (age 32)
Decatur, Georgia, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 8, 2016, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 2018, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average.286
Home runs8
Runs batted in35
Teams

Alvin Andrew Toles (born May 24, 1992) is an American former professional baseball outfielder in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Toles played college baseball for the University of Tennessee and Chipola College. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the third round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft and played for the organization until 2015. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2015 season and made his major league debut in 2016, and still remains on the club's restricted list despite not playing a game since 2018.

Amateur career

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Toles attended Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Georgia. After he graduated, the Florida Marlins selected him in the fourth round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He chose not to sign with the Marlins.[1]

Toles enrolled at the University of Tennessee to play college baseball for the Tennessee Volunteers. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2011. However, he was dismissed by the Volunteers baseball team later that year.[2][3] Tennessee coach Dave Serrano did not specify a reason for Toles' dismissal but noted "a certain standard of accountability to which every member of the team must be held."[2][3] After the 2011 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[4]

Toles then transferred to Chipola College in northern Florida.[5] He was suspended from Chipola's baseball team in 2012, for breaking team rules.[6][5]

Professional career

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Tampa Bay Rays organization

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The Tampa Bay Rays selected Toles in the third round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. He signed, receiving a $369,700 signing bonus. After his first professional season, with the Princeton Rays of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 2012 in which he batted .281, Baseball America named Toles the Best Athlete and the Fastest Baserunner in the organization.[7][8] In 2013, playing for the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the Class A Midwest League, Toles led the league in batting average and hits and was named a Mid- and Post-Season All-Star, a Topps Class-A All-Star, a MiLB.com Organization All-Star, and the Rays' Minor League Player of the Year.[9][10]

In 2014, playing for two months with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, Toles was criticized by manager Jared Sandberg. He was admonished first for not running hard to first, and was then pulled from a game for not hustling.[11] His manager said: "If you don’t play hard, you don’t play.... I watched Andrew play last year, and he came out of the game last year, too. So this isn’t the first time."[11] Toles left the team days later, and was eventually placed on the inactive list for "personal reasons," missing two months of the season.[7][5][12][2][13] He batted .261/.302/.337 for Charlotte.[14] He played six games in August for the Gulf Coast Rays of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.

In 2015, Toles attended spring training with the Rays. However, he was released prior to the season for disciplinary reasons and did not play professional baseball that year.[2][15][6]

Los Angeles Dodgers

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Toles signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2015 season.[2] He began 2016 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the Class A-Advanced California League, and was promoted to the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League and Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League during the season.[16][17]

The Dodgers called him up on July 8, 2016. Toles made his MLB debut as the starting center fielder that night against the San Diego Padres and had one hit in four at bats, a double in his first plate appearance, off Andrew Cashner.[18][19][20] He hit his first home run on August 22 off Josh Smith of the Cincinnati Reds.[21] He hit his first grand slam on August 31 off Adam Ottavino of the Colorado Rockies.[22] Toles finished the season with a .314 batting average in 48 games, along with three home runs and 16 RBIs.[23] Manager Dave Roberts likened Toles's rookie season to a "dream".[24] In the postseason, he hit .364 in 22 at bats.[25]

Toles returned to the Dodgers in 2017, making their Opening Day starting lineup. For the first month of the season, he was the Dodgers' primary leadoff hitter and starting left fielder against right-handed pitching. However, on May 9 he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee as he pulled up on the warning track at Dodger Stadium, was placed on the disabled list, and had season-ending surgery.[26][27] In 31 games he batted .271 with five home runs and 15 RBIs.[25]

In 2018 with the Dodgers, he batted .233/.281/.300 in 17 games.[25] He spent most of the season with Oklahoma City, where he hit .306 in 71 games.[28]

Toles did not report to spring training in 2019, and the Dodgers announced that he was dealing with a personal matter and was out indefinitely.[29] He was placed on the restricted list at the start of the season.[30] He did eventually report to camp on April 30 for extended spring training[31] but he left the club a month later to return to his family. He did not return to the team during the 2019 season and did not appear in any games.[32]

Mental health issues

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Toles has battled mental health issues including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.[33] While signed to the Rays and playing in the minor leagues, he had anxiety and struggled to sleep. As a result, he showed up late at the ballpark and made mental mistakes on the field, leading to criticisms from manager Jared Sandberg.[34] Toles eventually asked for a release from the Rays and spent time in a mental health treatment center in 2015.[35] Between the 2015 and 2016 Major League Baseball seasons, Toles spent two weeks working in the frozen-foods section of a Georgia Kroger grocery store.[36][13][37][35] In 2018, Toles was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia after spending two weeks in a mental health hospital.[38]

Toles was arrested and jailed on a misdemeanor charge of trespassing on June 22, 2020, after police found him sleeping behind Key West Airport and refusing to leave the area. His address was listed as "the streets of Key West".[35][39] While the charges were dropped, Toles continued to drift through hospitals and homeless shelters until his father gained guardianship of him.[40]

As of 2024, the Dodgers have signed Toles to contracts every season since 2018 so that he may have access to the team's health insurance. The contracts are non-salary and Toles is placed on the restricted list for the entire season.[33][41][42]

Personal life

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Toles was born in Decatur, Georgia. He is the son of Alvin Toles, who played college football at the University of Tennessee and then played in the National Football League.[43]

References

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  1. ^ Rodriguez, Juan C. (August 17, 2010). "Marlins, first-rounder Yelich agree just before deadline: Left-handed hitting OF will receive a $1.7 million signing bonus". Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Grauer, Scott (October 6, 2015). "Dodgers sign former Rays prospect Andrew Toles". Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Andrew Toles Dismissed from Baseball Team". Archived from the original on July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  4. ^ "#12 Andrew Toles". pointstreak.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c ago, David Egbert 7 years (June 29, 2014). "Have the Rays Lost Top Prospect Andrew Toles?". Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b "Andrew Toles released by Rays". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Grauer, Scott (October 6, 2015). ""Dodgers sign former Rays prospect Andrew Toles"". DRaysBay. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  8. ^ "2013 Tampa Bay Rays Top 10 Prospects". November 3, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  9. ^ "Rays announce 2013 Minor League award winners". MLB.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "2014 Tampa Bay Rays Top 10 Prospects". Baseball America. December 11, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  11. ^ a b SunCoast Sports Now (May 25, 2014). ""Crab Cakes: Andrew Toles removed from game vs. Bradenton" | SunCoast Sports Now". Suncoastsports.wordpress.com. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  12. ^ SunCoast Sports Now (May 25, 2014). "Crab Cakes: Andrew Toles removed from game vs. Bradenton | SunCoast Sports Now". Suncoastsports.wordpress.com. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Talented but troubled Andrew Toles gets a second chance with Dodgers", LA Times.
  14. ^ "Andrew Toles Stats, Highlights, Bio | MiLB.com Stats". Milb.com. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  15. ^ ""Projecting Dodgers Left Fielder Andrew Toles" | FanGraphs Baseball". Fangraphs.com. October 7, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  16. ^ "Andrew Toles breaks out of slump, helps Drillers defeat RoughRiders 6-4". Tulsa World. May 26, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  17. ^ "OKC Dodgers journal: Outfielder Andrew Toles nearly hits for cycle in win over Colorado Springs". July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  18. ^ Hoornstra, J.P. (July 8, 2016). "Sources: Dodgers calling up Andrew Toles, who was out of baseball last year". LA Daily News. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  19. ^ Stephen, Eric (July 8, 2016). "Andrew Toles starts in center field for his major league debut". SB Nation. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  20. ^ "July 8, 216 San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers play-by-play and box score". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  21. ^ Sheldon, Mark and Cody Pace (August 22, 2016). "Seventh wonder: Dodgers trounce Reds". mlb.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  22. ^ Gurnick, Ken and Ben Weinrib (September 1, 2016). "Toles' slam caps LA's huge rally at Coors". mlb.com. Archived from the original on September 4, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  23. ^ "2016 Los Angeles Dodgers Batting, Pitching & Fielding Statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  24. ^ Pedro Moura (September 22, 2016). ""Andrew Toles could garner a spot in Dodgers' postseason starting lineup"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  25. ^ a b c "Andrew Toles Statistics & History". Baseball Reference.
  26. ^ Gurnick, Ken (May 10, 2017). "Toles to undergo surgery, out for season". MLB.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  27. ^ Gurnick, Ken (May 24, 2018). ""Dodgers' Andrew Toles undergoes knee surgery"". MLB.com. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  28. ^ "Andrew Toles Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball Reference. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  29. ^ Gurnick, Ken (February 18, 2019). "Toles out indefinitely due to personal matter". mlb.com. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  30. ^ Starkand, Daniel (March 11, 2019). "Dodgers News: Andrew Toles Placed On Restricted List". dodgerblue.com. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  31. ^ Starkand, Daniel (April 30, 2019). "Dodgers News: Andrew Toles Reports To Extended Spring Training After Dealing With Personal Issue". Dodgerblue.com. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  32. ^ Moreno, Matthew (May 26, 2019). "Dodgers News: Andrew Toles Leaves Camelback Ranch, Believed To Join Family". dodgerblue.com. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  33. ^ a b Gaines, Cork (March 28, 2023). "The Dodgers keep giving a retired player with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia $0 contracts so he can keep his health insurance". Yahoo! News. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  34. ^ Moura, Pedro. "Questioned for so long, Andrew Toles finally has answers to explain his disarming honesty". The Athletic. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  35. ^ a b c Oz, Mike (June 26, 2020). "Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles jailed after being found sleeping behind Florida airport". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  36. ^ Crouse, Karen (October 20, 2016). "Andrew Toles Goes From Frozen Foods to Dodgers' Outfield". The New York Times. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  37. ^ J.P. Hoornstra (July 9, 2016). "Andrew Toles' second chance in baseball culminates in promotion to LA Dodgers". Dailynews.com. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  38. ^ Nightengale, Bob. "'He really needs help': Family seeks help for Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles, who is homeless and hospitalized". USA TODAY.
  39. ^ Filosa, Gwen (June 26, 2020). "Pro baseball player jailed for sleeping behind the Key West airport, police say". Miami Herald. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  40. ^ Nightengale, Bob (June 20, 2021). "'He wants his son back:' Father of Dodgers' Andrew Toles refuses to lose son to schizophrenia". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  41. ^ McGee, Noah A. (April 18, 2023). "Los Angeles Dodgers Renew Andrew Toles' Contract To Provide Him With Health Insurance". The Root. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  42. ^ "Henderson, Rutschman among contract renewals". ESPN. March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  43. ^ "Driller to watch: Andrew Toles". Tulsa World. June 9, 2016. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
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