Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche dealt with a shoulder injury that dated back to spring training. Despite assurances that it wouldn't affect his hitting, it affected his hitting, and further examination revealed more damage in the shoulder than was initially suspected, with a torn labrum and a partially torn rotator cuff.

Once that was discovered, LaRoche was instructed to rest and rehab for a few weeks to see if his shoulder would respond to treatment. However, LaRoche's shoulder didn't respond to treatment, which meant that this was all but inevitable:

Adam LaRoche will have season-ending surgery on Thursday.

LaRoche's 2011 is over, with 177 trips to the plate and a .546 OPS. In good news, or bad news, he's still under contract for $8 million in 2012, so he could give the Nationals some return on their investment next season.

If there's an upside to this, it's that LaRoche's injury has allowed the Nationals to see more of Mike Morse at first base, and Morse has responded by posting an OPS in the upper .800s. On a team with few good hitters, Morse has been one of the best.