May 1, 2015 4 min read

The Frontier League’s offseason, from early September to May, is an eternity for a baseball player. It is three months longer than an offseason for a major leaguer.

The past offseason must have seemed like at least three years to two left-handed pitchers for the Wild Things, Tim Flight and Matt Phillips. Both are trying to regain roster sports with Washington after coming off injuries.

Flight opened last season in the Wild Things’ rotation, but his year ended after only five starts, when he was struck in the left wrist by a line drive.

For Phillips, his offseason lasted 20 months. His 2014 season never got started.

A dominant setup reliever for Washington in 2013, Phillips learned after the season he had pitched with three injuries – two in the shoulder and one in the biceps – that required surgery. He sat out the entire 2014 season, when Washington returned to the Frontier League playoffs for the first time since 2007.

“That was the longest offseason ever,” Phillips said. “That was the first time I was ever on the disabled list. I was always a guy who, the day after a season ended, would say ‘Let’s get ready for the next season.'”

A workhorse in the Wild Things’ bullpen in 2013, pitching in 40 games and compiling a 3-3 record and 2.96 ERA, Phillips was shut down late in August because of shoulder pain.

“I was at my host family’s house and one morning I reached to get a coffee cup off a shelf when a pain shot up my arm. I couldn’t lift my arm above my head,” Phillips recalled.

After taking a few days to rest the arm, Phillips attempted to throw a baseball about 10 feet. “I couldn’t do it. My shoulder was hurting that badly,” Phillips said.

With only a week remaining in the season, Phillips was shut down. His season was over. The diagnosis was a torn rotator cuff, torn labrum and slight biceps tear. Phillips underwent surgery in January 2014, but even his surgeon, who works for the San Diego Padres, wasn’t sure that the pitcher could make a complete comeback.

“He said only about five percent of pitchers who have shoulder surgery ever get back to the level they were before,” Phillips said.

However, after 20 months of rehabilitation and following a program designed in part by Phillips, a physical therapy major in college, and former major league player and pitching coach Tom House, the lefty was back in Washington as the Wild Things opened spring training this week. Phillips said he’s ready to pick up where he left off in 2013.

“I’ve had no setbacks. I’m 100 percent healthy,” he said. “The first time I threw in a game situation was Feb. 7 and my body felt great.”

Flight’s left wrist was in severe pain June 8 last year, when he was struck in the wrist by a line drive off the bat of a Rockford Aviators hitter.

“I heard the crack of the bat and then the crack of my wrist,” Flight said. “The ball was headed for my head and I instinctively put my arm up in front of my face to protect myself. I had no chance.”

Flight immediately knew he had suffered an injury that likely would end his season.

“It was one of those freak accidents. I’m just happy to still be playing,” Flight said.

If there was some good news for Flight it was the broken wrist didn’t require surgery, though it was in an aircast for three months. When he was finally able to pitch again, Flight went to Australia for five months and played winter ball.

“I definitely needed to get some innings after throwing only 23 here,” Flight said.

Though Flight, who had a 2-0 record in those five starts, returned home to Rhode Island and Phillips was in California last summer, each said they kept tabs on the Wild Things and wished they could have played a part in Washington’s return to the postseason.

“I was listening to games last year, even watched some games,” Phillips said. “I kept tabs on everything that was going on here. I talked regularly with several players.”

Flight and Phillips are two pitchers who are battling strong competition for roster spots for opening day, which is May 15 at home against Schaumburg. Washington has 23 pitchers on its spring training roster.

Shortstop Jeudy Valdez, who the Wild Things placed on the suspended list last month, was granted a work visa and is expected to be in Washington and activated next week. Valdez was on the San Diego Padres’ 40-man roster in 2013.