Todd McDonald signs with Adelaide Bite for ABL season aiming for a US contract
QUEENSLAND’S Todd McDonald believes the Adelaide Bite environment will provide him with the platform to pursue his professional dream.
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QUEENSLANDER Todd McDonald is confident the Adelaide Bite program is the ideal environment to reignite his career and provide the best opportunity to gain another US contract.
McDonald, who signed a $500,000 deal with Texas Rangers six years ago as a 17-year old, has signed with the Bite for the ABL season.
And he has no doubt he can make an impact despite missing the past two years because of knee issues.
“As long as I’m on the field I feel I can do some pretty good things,” McDonald said. “This is a good opportunity for me and a lot better environment than home to get more baseball and get better.
“I’m loving it down here, being away from home and focusing totally on baseball.”
Recruited by the Rangers on the back of massive potential, McDonald was hampered by knee issues and he was forced to have surgery on both knees late in his first season with the Major Leaguie organisation.
After missing six months of action, he returned to the minor leagues on a restricted program. He could not shake the knee problems, however, and was released from the Rangers after four years.
“In my first season in the US I had niggling knee problems and it turned into something serious,” McDonald said. “After the surgery to both knees and being laid up for a while, I was behind the eight ball trying to get back and play.
“I could not stay on top of my rehab and getting the knee right. When I came back I’d play one game have four days off, so it was tough to get conditioning under my belt and I did not feel confident in the knees.”
McDonald has been back in Australia for two years and his baseball action has been virtually non-existent since. Another MRI on the knee showed tendon damage and a bone spur, prompting more surgery.
“I’ve just been rehabbing and getting healthy,” he said. “My knee are still a little sore while I’m getting back into it and getting the cobwebs out.’”
The passion to return to the US is driving McDonald and to add more weapons to his game, he will have a pitching role with the Bite.
“I’ll try and have a dual role to give myself every chance to get back to the pros in the US,” he said. “It is an extra avenue for me.”
To tune up for the ABL season, McDonald will play with Southern Districts.
Originally published as Todd McDonald signs with Adelaide Bite for ABL season aiming for a US contract
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