The Los Angeles Dodgers have extended the contract of former outfielder Andrew Toles for a sixth consecutive season despite his struggles with mental illness.
Due to his mental health issues, Toles has not played Major League Baseball since 2018. He was placed on the Dodgers’ restricted list in March 2019 and later received a diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar illness.
Even though it is doubtful that he would ever play for them again, LA has signed the 31-year-old to a $0 contract in order to maintain his ability to receive treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder through their health insurance.
Toles’ backing from the Dodgers has continued this week as they extended his contract for a sixth straight year, which will allow him to once again be eligible for the team’s insurance.
Toles, who was detained in 2020 for camping outside a Key West, Florida airport, is suffering from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
In order to allow the former outfielder to continue receiving treatment for his schizophrenia and bipolar disorder under their insurance, the Dodgers have been extending his contract.
In 2020, the Georgia native, who played in 96 Dodgers games between 2016 and 2018, was discovered camped out on the streets close to an airport in Key West, Florida.
His father told USA Today the following year about his diagnosis of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
“We’re facing difficulties,” Alvin Toles stated to USA Today. However, nothing that I or God cannot manage.
Schizophrenia is incredibly difficult. He can’t even watch TV, really. It’s a little perplexing because he can hear the TV and voices at the same time. Though I don’t think he truly gets it, I have seen him watching certain baseball games on his laptop.
Alvin said that his son had a “zombie-like condition,” and according to Andrew’s sister, he had spent more than 20 months in mental health facilities since 2019.
Alvin obtained formal guardianship after his incarceration in 2020 and returned him to his hometown of Fairburn, Georgia.
Each spring, MLB teams are permitted to extend the contracts of players who are not eligible for arbitration.
Former Dodgers pitcher Tom Koehler, who signed with the organization in 2017 but eventually missed out on playing in blue, praised LA’s choice to keep Toles in the fold.
On the other hand, a team can retain a player’s rights on the restricted list without having that player count against their active roster limitations.
On Twitter, Koehler wrote, “I adore this.” I witnessed directly how they treated me when I was unable to help them. That they are assisting Andrew doesn’t surprise me. It transcends beyond athletics.
Toles made his major league debut in 2012 with the Tampa Bay Rays. However, he made a comeback in 2016 during the Dodgers’ postseason run, going 6-for-13 with two doubles and four runs scored in LA’s National League Championship Series loss to the Chicago Cubs.
