Andrew Toles’s once promising career has turned into a sad story that made him move from a major league player to homeless and now behind bars.
On Monday, the former Dodger was found asleep behind the Federal Express building at Key West Airport in Florida, according to the Miami Herald. After being given several opportunities by the police to move, he did not want to and was arrested on June 22, charged with a minor offense for violations. His address was listed as “sightseeing in Key West” and all he had was a black book bag, police said.
It was a sad fall from where Toles was in 2016, the Dodgers started playing left-back in the playoffs. That was enough years, Toles went from Single-A to the big league despite struggling with depression and anxiety, as described by NBC LA. But his career fell from there. He tore his ACL in 2017 and didn’t play much in 2018 when he tried to come back from injury. Toles, a .286 hitter career with a major, did not appear for spring training in 2019 and left the organization in May for personal reasons, according to the report. He is still on the Dodgers limited list.
Dodgers’ Andrew TolesAP, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Originally composed by Sinar in the third round in 2012 outside Chipola College in Florida, he was the Tampa Minor League Player of the Year in 2013. But in 2015, he left the organization. Reasons for discipline are given as an explanation.
“He isn’t perfect, and he starts dealing with crippling anxiety,” Pedro Maura from The Athletic wrote in 2018. “He has trouble sleeping. Regularly, he arrived late to the ballpark and made a mental error on the pitch, and he regularly heard from manager Jared Sandberg. “
He spent time working in the grocery store and afterwards in a mental health facility, before finding a new home with the Dodgers. But now, at the age of 28, Toles may have hit rock bottom. He has a court date set for July 2, the Miami Herald reported, and may not have a place to stay every time he exits the Stock Island Detention Center.
