Andrew Toles’ promising career has turned into a sad story that has seen him go from being a major league player to being a homeless man and now behind bars.
On Monday, the former Dodger was found asleep behind a Federal Express building at Florida’s Key West airport, according to the Miami Herald. After the police gave him several opportunities to move, he did not, and he was arrested on June 22, charged with a misdemeanor intrusion. His address was listed as the “streets of Key West” and all he had with him was a black backpack, police said.
It’s a sad fall from where Toles was in 2016, the Dodgers’ starting left fielder in the playoffs. It was an entire year, Toles went from Single-A to the big leagues despite battles with depression and anxiety, as NBC LA illustrates. But his career fell from there. He tore his ACL in 2017 and didn’t play much in 2018 while trying to return from injury. Toles, a .286 career hitter in the majors, did not attend spring training in 2019 and left the organization in May for personal reasons, according to reports. He is still on the Dodgers’ restricted list.
Originally drafted by the Rays in the third round in 2012 from Chipola College in Florida, he was the Tampa Minor League Player of the Year in 2013. But by 2015, he was no longer in the organization. Disciplinary reasons were given as an explanation.
“He was imperfect and began to deal with crippling anxiety,” wrote Pedro Maura of The Athletic in 2018. “He struggled to sleep. Regularly, he was late for the stadium and made mental mistakes on the field, and he regularly listened to manager Jared Sandberg.”
He spent time working at a grocery store and then at a mental health center, before finding a new home with the Dodgers. But now, at the age of 28, Toles may have hit rock bottom. She has a cutoff date set for July 2, the Miami Herald reported, and she may not have a place to live every time she leaves the Stock Island Detention Center.
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