Washington Nationals' first baseman Adam LaRoche has had a nightmare of a season thus far, and it looks like it might be getting worse. LaRoche was held out of Sunday's game against the Orioles as he traveled to get a second opinion on his ailing left shoulder, and it looks like a stint on the disabled list will come shortly, reports Bill Ladson of MLB.com.
LaRoche is hitting just .172 with three home runs and 15 RBI, and while he is normally a slow starter, he is usually not this bad. He's been dealing with shoulder pain all season, as Past A Diving Vidro chronicles perfectly here. LaRoche admitted he had a partially torn labrum right at the end of Spring Training, but decided to play through it instead of going on the disabled list.
If LaRoche is sidelined for an extended period of time, Michael Morse would likely play first base. Morse is an outfielder, but the Nationals have no other options at the position.