For those who maybe missed the earlier posting from Ben about Chad Cordero, the Nats closer has a torn labrum in his right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season (possibly more).

The news was both surprising and yet not really when you think about it. Though the club had been getting some encouraging reports about Cordero from his rehab in Viera, he recently started experiencing more shoulder pain. He went to a doctor today and was given an arthrogram (a series of X-rays involving a colored dye injection to help reveal injuries) which showed the torn labrum.

The Nationals aren't officially saying how long Cordero will be out. Much will depend on what Dr. Lewis Yocum finds when he operates on him in the next few days in Los Angeles. But it's not uncommon for some pitchers to need 12 to 18 months before returning to the mound. Ryan Wagner just passed the 1-year mark from his labrum surgery and he's just about ready to pitch in rehab games. On the other side of the table, Jon Rauch had a labrum tear in 2005 and came back before the season ended. So there are varying degrees of this, though I think the Nats are thinking this is going to be on the longer end of the spectrum.

Now, the real question: Did Cordero just suffer this tear while pitching in Florida, or was it there all along. Again, the Nats don't know for sure (and may not ever know) but club executives are fairly confident Cordero was pitching with this all along, which would explain his lack of velocity and other issues. He had two MRIs taken back in April and neither revealed a tear, but sometimes these things can be difficult to detect.

As for the effect it will have on the club, here manager Manny Acta:

"It's really unfortunate. It's sad, because we have missed him so bad this first half. We were looking forward to him coming back in the second half so he could stabilize our bullpen and make it better, but it's just one more injury for us."

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