Dodgers: Andrew Toles Not Expected to Return in 2020
Dodger fans loved the left-handed outfielder Andrew Toles for the time that he was with the club. Toles’ history was marked with suspensions and leaves with him citing personal reasons when he was with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He has since left the Dodgers organization and has been placed on the restricted list citing personal reasons. While there is a lot of speculation regarding his situation, nobody knows for sure what issues he is dealing with except for himself and probably some members of the Dodgers organization.
According to a recent column by Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Gurnick presumes that Andrew Toles is not expected to return to the Dodgers in 2020.
Ken Gurnick hitting us with the sad line of the day.
"There seems to be no expectation for a return by Andrew Toles, who missed the season with personal issues."https://t.co/Lo3MFjimYH
— Clint Pasillas (@realFRG) January 6, 2020
Toles last played for the Dodgers in 2018, playing in just 17 games with the club. He posted a poor 53 wRC+ and was worth 0.0 WAR. However, prior to that, Toles posted a .294/.341/.483 slash line with a 119 wRC+ in 217 plate appearances.
The Dodgers are pretty stocked up on left-handed hitting outfielders with Alex Verdugo, Joc Pederson, and Cody Bellinger, but they could certainly use Toles’s skill set.
It is a shame to watch the demise of the career of such a talented young outfielder. Toles could very well make a return as he is just 27 years old, but it is sad to hear that the organizational expectation is that he will not be returning in 2020.
I remember that opposite field homer he hit in 2016 against Colorado dang time flies
I remember reading, as does everyone else, the stories of how he was booted from two college teams and his first pro one, yet people can change. His play in 2016 gave hope to a re-commitment to the game and an end to whatever personal troubles he had. Seems that’s not the case. It’s a loss for the Dodgers but the larger story is a young mans life being derailed by who knows what on a personal level and that is the real loss.
What’s true here is that Dodgers are already stacked with LH hitting OF and others on this roster to begin with.