Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and I have found evidence that baseball is the oldest sport. Right in the Bible, it says \u201cIn the big inning, God created the heavens and the earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Dodgers\u2019 front office doesn\u2019t always get things right. They keep fans at arm\u2019s length and generally give the impression of \u201cAren\u2019t you lucky to be our fan?\u201d<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s one thing they get right every year. Every year they renew Andrew Toles\u2019 contract so he can retain his health insurance while dealing with mental health issues. And they have done this without a big announcement, only confirmed when contacted by a reporter.<\/p>\n
Things are a little bit different this year. My colleague, Ed Guzman, asked the Dodgers about Toles this year and this was the response<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been in contact with the Toles family and have worked together on how to best move forward. Continuing with the previous setup was no longer possible due to eligibility. The Toles family has asked that Andrew\u2019s privacy be respected. Out of respect to the Toles family, we will not comment any further.\u201d<\/p>\n In short, the Dodgers will continue to help Toles, but they can no longer just renew his contract and are finding a new way to help.<\/p>\n In years past, they would renew his contract for $0 and put him on the restricted list, so he didn\u2019t take a roster spot. What are they doing now? Well, the family that is helping Toles doesn\u2019t like a lot of details leaking out and are extremely protective of Toles\u2019 privacy. And really, who can blame them? <\/p>\n You probably know Toles\u2019 story. He hit .364 in the 2016 postseason for the Dodgers and was off to a solid start in 2017 when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament sliding into the wall while trying to make a catch. He sat out the rest of that season but returned in 2018, playing 17 games. He wasn\u2019t at spring training in 2019, and it was eventually learned he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.<\/p>\n In 2020, Toles was found sleeping behind a building at Key West International Airport in Florida. He was homeless and taken to a mental health facility.<\/p>\n Toles has been in the care of his father, Alvin, who said Andrew is in a \u201czombie-like\u201d condition. \u201dWe are having challenges,\u201d Alvin told USA Today in 2021<\/a>, \u201cbut nothing that God and I can\u2019t handle. Schizophrenia, it\u2019s just so tough. I mean, he can\u2019t even watch TV. He hears voices and the TV at the same time, so it\u2019s kind of confusing. I\u2019ve seen him looking at some baseball games on his laptop, but I don\u2019t think he really understands what\u2019s going on. I just want him to have a chance in life. That\u2019s all. Just to be healthy, live a normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n At last report, five years ago, Toles was living next door to his dad in Georgia.<\/p>\n When the Dodgers renewed Toles\u2019 contract in 2024, former Dodgers pitcher Tom Koehler, who signed with the team in 2017 but injured his shoulder in spring training and never pitched an inning for the team, had this to say:<\/p>\n \u201cI love this,\u201d Koehler said. \u201cSaw it firsthand how they treated me when I could provide nothing for them. I am not surprised they are helping Andrew. It\u2019s bigger than sports.\u201d<\/p>\n I would guess that almost all of us have a friend or family member who has dealt with mental illness. Though it seems highly unlikely that Toles will ever play in the majors again, let\u2019s hope that he can just enjoy life again. And if things work out perfectly and he\u2019s able to return to Dodger Stadium one day to throw out the first pitch or just wave from the stands, let\u2019s hope there\u2019s a sellout crowd on hand to give him a standing ovation.<\/p>\n Who is Santiago Espinal?<\/p>\n When the Dodgers signed Santiago Espinal in February, few gave it much notice. But Espinal is making everyone notice now<\/a> as he has played so well in spring training that he could make the opening day roster.<\/p>\n Espinal, who was born in the Domincan Republic, was chosen in the 10th round of the 2016 draft by the Boston Red Sox out of Miami Dade College. He was traded to Toronto in 2018 and made the majors in 2020, hitting .267\/.308\/.333 in 60 at-bats.<\/p>\n He spent the next three seasons as a utility played for the Blue Jays, hitting .273\/.332\/.370 with 52 doubles and 11 homers in 900 at-bats. Toronto traded him to Cincinnati before the 2024 season and he hit .245\/.294\/.322. His power disappeared last season, as he hit no home runs after hitting nine the year before.<\/p>\n The Dodgers signed him and brought him to major league camp as a non-roster invitee, and he apparently rediscovered his power. He is 10 for 20 with two doubles, two homers, nine RBIs and nine runs. He also has walked as much as he has struck out (4-4). <\/p>\n \u201cIt would be hard to imagine him not being on the team,\u201d Dave Roberts told reporters last Friday. \u201cI can trust him essentially anywhere on the diamond. Outfield corners, second, third, and I think even in a pinch, he can play short. If we need a right-handed bat, he\u2019s going to put the ball in play and take a professional at-bat.\u201d <\/p>\n That sounds like a guy who is going to be on the team, perhaps platooning with Hyeseong Kim at second base. Of course, hitting spring training pitching is different than hitting during the season, so let\u2019s not reserve that MVP award for him yet. Espinal is 31 and has a career OPS+ of 85 (an average major league hitter has an OPS+ of 100). But he\u2019s worth keeping an eye on in case the Dodgers unlocked something in his swing, as they have done with others in the past.<\/p>\n Ryan Ward sent down<\/p>\n When Michael Conforto (who is now with the Cubs) struggled last season, a lot of people wondered why the Dodgers never gave a chance to Ryan Ward, who was hitting really well in the minors. He spent the entire season with triple-A Oklahoma City and hit .290\/.380\/.557 with 31 doubles and 36 homers. He was named MVP of the Pacific Coast League.<\/p>\n With Conforto gone, he appeared to have a good chance of making the roster this season, until the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker. And sure enough, on Sunday, Ward was sent to Oklahoma City again. Why?<\/p>\n \u201cWard\u2019s problem is that the Dodgers are so talented that it\u2019s hard to find a spot for him,\u201d MLB Pipeline prospect analyst Jim Callis told Jack Vita<\/a>. \u201cYou could make the case that he could have helped them more than Michael Conforto did last year. They could use a second lefty-hitting outfielder right now with switch-hitting Tommy Edman out, but it feels like he\u2019s about seventh on their overall outfield depth chart.\u201d<\/p>\n Not helping matters: Ward went five for 32 in spring training, with two doubles, one walk and nine strikeouts. Frankly, at times he looked a bit overmatched. Last season in spring training, he went two for 18 with no extra-base hits and eight strikeouts. <\/p>\n So, unfortunately for Ward, he has not done well when given a chance. And with a team as deep as the Dodgers, that is enough to keep you in the minors. <\/p>\n Could the Dodgers have just said, \u201cConforto isn\u2019t doing it, let\u2019s give Ward a couple of weeks in the bigs and see what happens?\u201d Well, sure. But, if there\u2019s one thing we have learned about Andrew Friedman and the other decision-makers, it\u2019s that they are a pretty good judge of big league talent. <\/p>\n Ward had 32 at-bats in the spring, a huge number. Espinal played his way on to the roster. Ward could have at least made it a very difficult decision to cut him. But he didn\u2019t. With all the usual Dodger injuries during a season, he may well get called up this season. He needs to perform then, or face becoming another \u201cWhatever happened to….?\u201d<\/p>\n You can read Vita\u2019s story on Ward here<\/a>.<\/p>\n In case you missed it<\/p>\n \u2018He\u2019s having a great spring.\u2019 How Santiago Espinal is playing his way onto Dodgers roster<\/a> <\/p>\n \u2018Control what you can control.\u2019 Why Dodgers prospect Ryan Ward continues to wait his turn<\/a><\/p>\n Shaikin: Is Dodgers\u2019 Andrew Friedman a global business icon? In Japan, he is<\/a> <\/p>\n How the Dodgers will look to fill out a once-crowded starting rotation<\/a> <\/p>\n Dodgers work with Andrew Toles\u2019 family to continue supporting former outfielder<\/a> <\/p>\n \u2018Opportunity is present.\u2019 Alex Freeland trying to take advantage of reps at second base<\/a> <\/p>\n And finally<\/p>\n An old interview with Andrew Toles. Watch and listen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Until next time….<\/p>\n Have a comment or something you\u2019d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com<\/a>. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and I have found…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":618589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2406],"tags":[5,8006,75961,190,39,2138,14,53632,1165,4332,4333,5954,774,57,3224,4331,4,1479,468,151,75960,75958,75959],"class_list":{"0":"post-618588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-dodgers","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-bobblehead","10":"tag-bobblehead-may","11":"tag-day","12":"tag-dodgers","13":"tag-fan","14":"tag-game","15":"tag-kay","16":"tag-la","17":"tag-la-dodgers","18":"tag-ladodgers","19":"tag-last-week","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","22":"tag-losangeles","23":"tag-losangelesdodgers","24":"tag-mlb","25":"tag-season","26":"tag-shohei-ohtani","27":"tag-spring-training","28":"tag-starter-series","29":"tag-support-system","30":"tag-world-series-last-season"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116210923443598676","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=618588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/618588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=618588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=618588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=618588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}