William Tobin Toffey (born December 31, 1994) is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the fourth round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft after playing college baseball for Vanderbilt University.

Will Toffey
Toffey with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2022
Free agent
Third baseman
Born: (1994-12-31) December 31, 1994 (age 29)
Wareham, Massachusetts
Bats: Left
Throws: Right

Amateur career

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Toffey is from Barnstable, Massachusetts. He attended Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut, and accepted a scholarship to attend Vanderbilt University to play college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores over playing college hockey.[1][2] The New York Yankees selected Toffey in the 23rd round of the 2014 MLB draft, but he enrolled at Vanderbilt rather than sign.[3]

As a freshman with Vanderbilt, Toffey had a .294 batting average and 49 runs batted in (RBIs) in 255 at bats. He was named a freshman All-American. In his sophomore year, he batted. 277 with 22 RBIs in 203 at bats.[4] Toffey played collegiate summer baseball in 2015 and 2016 for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[5][6][7] The Baltimore Orioles selected Toffey in the 25th round of the 2016 MLB draft, but he again did not sign, returning to Vanderbilt for his junior year.[3] He batted .326 with 28 RBIs in 95 at-bats as a junior.[4]

Professional career

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Oakland Athletics

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The Oakland Athletics selected Toffey in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB draft. He signed with Oakland for a $482,600 signing bonus, and made his professional debut with the Vermont Lake Monsters of the Low–A New York-Penn League[3] where he batted .263 with one home run and 22 RBI in 57 games.[8] Toffey began the 2018 season with the Stockton Ports of the High–A California League.[9]

New York Mets

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On July 21, 2018, the Athletics traded Toffey, along with Bobby Wahl, to the New York Mets in exchange for Jeurys Familia.[10] The Mets assigned Toffey to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies of the Double–A Eastern League.[11] In 89 total games between Stockton and Binghamton, he batted .248 with nine home runs and 51 RBI.[12]

Toffey returned to Binghamton to begin 2019.[13] He batted .219/.347/.349/.696 with five home runs and 27 RBI in 91 games with Binghamton. Toffey did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] He returned to Binghamton Mets to begin the 2021 season and batted .178/.317/.386 with six home runs and 15 RBI in 34 games.

San Francisco Giants

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On July 2, 2021, the Mets traded Toffey to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for Anthony Banda.[15] He was assigned to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, where he batted .270/.407/.378 with 2 home runs and 9 RBI in 31 games.

Philadelphia Phillies

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On March 27, 2022, Toffey was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Luke Williams.[16] He was assigned to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League to begin the year.[17] On July 13, the Phillies selected Toffey's contract to their 40-man roster from Triple-A as a substitute player.[18] He was sent back down after the game without making his debut and outrighted off of the 40-man roster to Lehigh Valley after he cleared waivers.[19]

Toffey did not play in a game for the Phillies organization in 2023 and elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2023.[20]

Personal life

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Toffey's father, Jack, played college and professional baseball and works as a sports agent. His older brother, John, played college baseball and hockey as well as minor league hockey for the Johnstown Chiefs.[5][21]

References

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  1. ^ "Vanderbilt trio chose baseball over hockey". Tennessean.com. May 4, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  2. ^ "How Vanderbilt's Will Toffey found his bat in his backyard". Tennessean.com. March 30, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Matt Goisman. "Will Toffey makes pro debut with Vermont Lake Monsters - Sports - capecodtimes.com - Hyannis, MA". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Housenick, Tom (July 10, 2022). "IronPigs infielder Will Toffey stayed the course until hot streak came". The Morning Call. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Goismanmgoisman, Matt. "Cape League Extra: Toffey comes home to play for Y-D Red Sox - Sports - capecodtimes.com - Hyannis, MA". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "Will Toffey". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  7. ^ "#10 Will Toffey". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "Will Toffey Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  9. ^ Rosenbaum, Mike (May 24, 2018). "Where Athletic top prospects are starting 2018". MLB.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  10. ^ Lee, Jane (May 24, 2018). "A's land Jeurys Familia from Mets". MLB.com. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  11. ^ "Gimenez, Toffey set for first homestand with Rumble Ponies". July 31, 2018.
  12. ^ "Will Toffey Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  13. ^ "Binghamton Rumble Ponies: What to know about the 2019 season". Pressconnects.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  14. ^ "2020 Minor League Season Canceled".
  15. ^ Kerry Crowley (July 2, 2021). "SF Giants trade Anthony Banda to Mets for Will Toffey". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  16. ^ Polishuk, Mark (March 27, 2022). "Giants Acquire Luke Williams From Phillies, Place Matthew Boyd On 60-Day IL". Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  17. ^ Housenick, Tom (April 4, 2022). "IronPigs season preview: 1st-year manager Anthony Contreras focused on development and winning". The Morning Call. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Phillies call up Will Toffey, Bubby Rossman for final game in Toronto | RSN". Nbcsports.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  19. ^ Steve Adams. "Phillies Activate Brogdon, Romero; Toffey Outrighted". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  20. ^ "2023 MiLB Free Agents". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Sports (July 27, 2007). "Toffey is happy to come home | The Berkshire Eagle | Pittsfield Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
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