LA Angels prospect D.C. Arendas has battled back from adversity to the minors.

LA Angels prospect D.C. Arendas was an up and coming middle infielder for a perennial college baseball power the University of South Carolina. However, while diving for a ground ball Arendas as rolled over and injured his left oblique muscle and glute.

The injury caused Arendas’ left hand to overcompensate because the oblique and glute weren’t firing correctly. The LA Angels prospect’s nagging hand injury that greatly cut down his production and caused him to be undrafted upon graduation.

No doctors could figure out what was wrong with D.C. Arendas.  He just knew that he couldn’t swing the way he wanted to and his average suffered.  The pain in Arendas” hand continued to get worse so he decided to give up baseball in 2016.  Arendas got a job working as an equipment manager and helping with practice plans for the New England Patriots. Later he decided to move to Texas to be close to his girlfriend Elizabeth Rabel,

Arendas flew to Houston in July of 2017 before moving there and convinced Rabel to take him to her hometown New Braunfels, Texas on July 5th. He took Rabel to Gruene Hall which was a major part of her childhood. There in the dance hall Arendas got down on one knee and proposed to Rabel.

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The two were married on July 8th, 2018 in Montgomery, Texas and Arendas could not be any happier. “She is the love of my life and she has been with me through the ups and downs. I’m very lucky to have her by my side,” Arendas said.

With his personal life going well, there was still a desire to play baseball again.  Arendas decided to go to Dynamic Sports Training Center (DST) in Houston, Texas in April of 2018.  The trainers there worked with Arendas and helped him gain his strength back in his hand so he decided to give baseball another shot. He did a tryout for an Angel

Arendas contacted major league teams and the Angels gave the now 25-year old Arendas a try out and a shot to again pursue his dream of playing professional baseball, signing him to a minor league contract.  He started the season in Low Single-A Burlington and he did well enough to now get promoted to the Inland Empire 66ers. While in Burlington he hit six homers and drove in 24 runs in 56 games with a .330 OBP.

Since arriving from Burlington, Arendas is hitting .250 with a .388 OBP with eight runs scored and one RBI in 40 at-bats. For Arendas he is just happy to playing baseball again.

“I had a hand injury that I tried to play through the last two years of college and my hitting suffered. I decided to start working,” Arendas said. “It was tough not playing, and the desire to play never left my mind, but getting married and working helped me get through it.”

So what helped get Arendas back was a trip to a special training center.

“Thankfully I heard about DST in Houston. It is a major part of why I’m here today. They helped me get back into baseball. They strengthened my glute and get my wrist and hand area stronger, Arendas said. “It’s awesome to be back in baseball. I love being around the guys. I’m just trying to get more consistent each day and keep improving.”

Besides DST, Arendas gives a lot of credit to his wife and his faith in God for helping him to get back to play minor league baseball this season.

“I wouldn’t have been able to get back though without the help and support of my wife Elizabeth. She has gone everywhere with me, she has been a constant. Elizabeth was always encouraging me to get back and give it a shot again,” Arendas said. “My relationship with Jesus is everything. If my identity was just in the game it would have been shook those years I was out of baseball. The relationship I have with Jesus is the most important thing in my life and my wife feels the same way.”

“Now that I’m back in baseball I have a chance to affect people daily. No matter what happens you can encourage someone. I’m just trying to build relationships with the guys,” Arendas added. “I can see what motivates certain guys and see what drives them and then I can try and help them walk through certain things based on similar experiences I have had.”

With hard work, the support of his wife, and his faith in God, Arendas has a great support system and who know, maybe one day we will see him in the majors.