Nationals outfielder Wily Mo Pena will undergo surgery in the next week to 10 days to repair a small tear in his left shoulder, a procedure that could end his disappointing season.

An enhanced MRI taken today on Pena's shoulder revealed a small tear and impingement in his left rotator cuff as well as fraying in the labrum, according to Nationals orthopedist Ben Shaffer. Surgery will be necessary.

Team officials won't know how long Pena's recovery time will be until after the surgery, but it's possible he won't be back this year.

This injury should explain a lot about Wily Mo's horrible year at the plate. He's hitting .205 with two homers and 10 RBI and doesn't seem to have any source of power. Manager Manny Acta said yesterday that Pena had been bothered by shoulder issues for a while, dating back at least a month and probably longer than that.

It will have been a wasted season in many ways for the former Weapon of Mass Production, but at least know he (and we all) know what was going on and have reason to believe he'll come back stronger and better in 2009.

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