Andrew Toles has not played a Major League Baseball game since 2018, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have renewed his contract for the fifth straight season.
Toles, 30, played three seasons for dodgers between 2016 and 2018, but did not return for spring training in 2019 and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Andrew Toles of the Los Angeles Dodgers hits an RBI single during the seventh inning of a game against the San Diego Padres at PETCO Park on July 12, 2018 in San Diego. (Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
Despite not playing for the team, the Dodgers continued to renew his contract season after season, this year at $0, so the former outfielder can keep his health insurance, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month.
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«Love this,» former Dodgers pitcher Tom Koehler said on Twitter in response to the news. «I saw firsthand how they treated me when I couldn’t provide anything. I’m not surprised they’re helping Andrew. It’s bigger than sports.»
Koehler signed a one-year deal with Los Angeles in 2017, but was injured during spring training and released in 2018.
Andrew Toles of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after striking out against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the eighth inning of a game at Chase Field on August 16, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
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In 2020, Toles was arrested in Florida after he was found homeless and sleeping behind an airport.
Toles’s father, Alvin Toles, told USA Today in 2021 that he now cares for his son but worries about his condition.
“I just want him to have a chance in life,” he told the outlet. «That’s all. Just to be healthy, live a normal life.
«Schizophrenia, it’s so hard. I mean, he can’t even watch TV. He hears voices and TV at the same time, so it’s kind of confusing. I’ve seen him watching some baseball games on his laptop, but no I think he really understands what’s going on.»
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Andrew Toles (60) celebrates with teammates in the eighth inning after scoring during Game 4 of the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on October 11, 2016 in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
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Alvin Toles, who played four seasons for the New Orleans Saints after being drafted in the first round of the 1985 NFL draft, he told USA Today that he hopes his son will one day see the Dodgers play again.